MARCiARET  MAXWELL  HlNOsTflOMAS 


NEFERT  ARI,   LUXOR  TEMPLK 


BELOW  THE  CATARACTS 

WRITTEN  AND  ILLUSTRATED  WITH 
SIXTY  PLATES  IN  COLOUR  BY 
WALTER  TYNDALE  «  *  * 


LONDON  :    WILLIAM    HEINEMANN 
PHILADELPHIA:   J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1907 


t,  LenJoi.  igo;,  by  H'iUiam  litixtmon* 
Ilhutrotifiu  nfir*itKtd  try 


PREFACE 

THIS  book  is  the  record  of  a  painter  who  has 
spent  some  years  of  study  and  of  work  in  the  Nile 
valley.  He  has  pondered  long  over  the  strange 
beauty  of  the  Egyptian  monuments  ;  and  if, 
either  by  illustration  or  description,  he  now 
succeeds  in  aiding  others  to  an  appreciation  of 
the  wonder  and  the  mystery  of  these  remains  of 
a  most  ancient  civilisation,  and  of  the  picturesque- 
ness  of  life  in  Egypt  to-day,  he  will  not  have 
painted  nor  written  in  vain. 

The  limits  of  space  do  not  permit  him  to 
include  in  this  volume  all  the  interesting  buildings 
of  medieval  Cairo  and  of  Pharaonic  Egypt  ;  and 
the  temples  of  Esneh,  Edfou  and  Kom  Ombo, 
though  also  situated  below  the  first  cataract, 
have  been  omitted,  as  it  is  intended  to  include 
them  in  a  second  volume,  which  will  treat 
chiefly  of  the  monuments  above  Thebes. 

v 


PREFACE 

The  author  desires  to  thank  those  patrons  of 
his  art  who  have  greatly  assisted  him  by  lending 
some  of  the  paintings  which  are  reproduced  here  ; 
and  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to 
M.  Maspero,  the  distinguished  head  of  the 
Antiquities  Department,  to  Herr  Bey  and  to 
Mr.  Weigall,  who  have  facilitated  his  work 
in  the  buildings  which  are  under  their  super- 
vision :  and,  indeed,  to  all  the  members  of  the 
different  excavations,  who  have  welcomed  him 
to  their  camps,  and  have  given  him  much 
valuable  information. 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

PORT  SAID  .  i 


CHAPTER  II 

MASK  EL  KAHIRA  .  .  .  ...  .  .10 

CHAPTER  III 
IN  THE  BAZAARS  ......        22 

CHAPTER    IV 
IN  THE  STREETS  OF  CAIRO       .....        34 

CHAPTER    V 
OLD   CAIRO          ........        50 

CHAPTER  VI 
THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN    .  .  .  .  .62 

CHAPTER  VII 
THE  MOSQUE  OF  SULTAN  HASAN        .  .  .  .74 

CHAPTER  VIII 

ANOTHER  RAMBLE  IN  OLD  CAIRO       .  .  .  .87 

vii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IX 

PACK 

IN  THE  COPTS'  QUARTER         .  .          .          .  .100 

CHAPTER   X 
THE  PYRAMIDS    .  .  .  .  .  .  .112 

CHAPTER  XI 
ALEXANDRIA  TO  CAIRO  .  .  .  .  .  .128 

CHAPTER  XII 
THEBES     .....  .          .      140 

CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  TEMPLE  OF  AMMON          .  .  .  .  .156 

CHAPTER  XIV 
AMONG  THE  TEMPLES     .  .  .  .  .  .173 

CHAPTER  XV 
THE  TOMB  OF  QUEEN  TYI       .  .  .  .  .184 

CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  MENTUHOTEP  TEMPLE      .....      196 

CHAPTER  XVII 
KARNAK   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .210 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
MORE  ABOUT  KARNAK  ......      225 

CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  TEMPLE  OF  DENDERA       .....      236 

CHAPTER  XX 

ROSEITA     ........        254 


Vlll 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


Nerfert  Ari,  Luxor  Temple         ....      Frontispiece 

El-Fouyateah,  Cairo         .            .            .            .  .  .10 

Street  off  the  Suk  Ez-Zalat,  Cairo          .           .  .  .14 

The  Sheykh's  House  in  the  Nahassin,  Cairo     .  .  .18 

A  Courtyard  in  the  Hanafieh  Quarter   .            .  .  .22 

Khan  El-Khalil,  Cairo 28 

A  Court  near  El-Azhar    .            .            .            .  .  .32 

After  the  Midday  Prayer             .            .            .  .  .34 

A  Lane  near  the  Gate  of  Zuweyla          .            .  .  .36 

The  Sebil  near  the  Gate  of  Zuweyla       .            .  .  .40 

The  Twin  Minarets  of  El-Mua"yyad        .            .  .  .42 

The  Guardian  of  the  Hareem     .            .            .  .  .46 

El-Gamamese,  Cairo         .            .            .            .  .  .50 

A  Khedivial  School          ......        54 

Courtyard  in  a  Cairene  House    .            .            .  .  .58 

A  Lane  in  the  Tulun  Quarter  at  Cairo  .            .  .  .62 

Court  in  the  Mosque  of  Ibrahim  Aga,  Cairo     .  .  .66 

A  Street  near  the  Citadel,  Cairo             .            .  .  .70 

The  Sanctuary  in  the  Mosque  of  Sultan  Hasan  .  .        76 

Tomb  Mosque  of  Arboughan,  Cairo      .            .  .  .80 

ix 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PACING 
PAGE 


Interior  of  the  Blue  Mosque,  Cairo       .  .        84 
The  Tomb  of  Ibrahim  Aga         .....        88 

El-Gamaliyeh,  Cairo        .           .           .           .           .  .92 

Near  the  Tombs  of  the  Caliphs,  Cairo  .            .           .  .96 

A  Coptic  Church  near  Abydos  .           .           .           .  .102 

A  Sheykh's  Tomb  at  Cairo         .           .           .           .  .106 

An  Arab  Doorway            .            .            .            .            .  1 10 

The  Sphinx  and  Pyramids  of  Gizeh       .            .            .  .118 

A  Bedawi  Tent    .           .           .           .           .           .  .122 

Aahmes,    Mother    of    Hatshepsu,    in   the   Temple   at  Der 

El-Bahri        .            .            .            .            .            .  .126 

Cemetery  near  Rosetta    .            .            .            .            .  .128 

On  the  Mahmoudieh  Canal         .            .            .            .  .132 

A  Fruit  Stall         .......      138 

The  Ramesseum  at  Thebes        .            .            .            .  .142 

D£r  El-Bahri         .......       146 

Statue  of  Ramses  II.,  Luxor  Temple      .            •           .  .150 

The  Colossi  at  Thebes    .           .           .           .           .  .154 

Ruins  of  the  Temple  of  Mentuhotep  at  Thebes            .  .160 

Senseneb,  in  the  Temple  of  Hatshepsu  at  D£r  El-Bahri  .       164 

Temple  of  Seti  I.  at  Gurna,  Thebes       .            .            .  .168 

The  Second  Court  at  Medinet  Habu     .            .            .  .172 

Temple  of  D&r  El-Medineh  at  Thebes  .            .            .  .176 

In  the  Temple  of  Ramses  III.,  Medinet  Habu            .  .180 

The  Ptolemaic  Pylon,  Medinet  Habu     .            .           .  .184 

The  Well,  on  the  Road  to  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings     .  .188 

Khnum,  Kepr,  Ra,  in  the  Tomb  of  Seti  I.  at  Thebes  .  .192 

The  Temple  of  Nektenebo,  Medinet  Habu       .           .  .196 

X 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

Wall  Paintings  in  the  Tomb  of  Nacht  at  Thebes          .  .       202 

Seti  I.   Offering  an  Image  of  Truth  to  Osiris.      (From  the 

wall  inscriptions  in  the  Temple  at  Abydos)  .  .       208 

Isis  Suckling  Seti  I.,  Abydos      .  .  .  .  .212 

Capitals  in  Hypostyle  Hall,  Karnak       .  .  .  .218 

The  Sanctuary  at  Karnak  .  .  .  .  .222 

Wall  Inscriptions  in  the  Chapel  of  Shabako,  Karnak  .  .226 

Sekhet       ........      230 

Early  Morning  on  the  Nile         .  .  .  •  .236 

The  Court  of  the  Kiosque  at  Dendera  ....       242 

An  Arab  School   .......       248 

Mosque  of  Sakhlun  at  Rosetta    .  .  .  .  .252 

The  Shrine  of  Sakhlun,  Rosetta  .  .  .  -256 

The  Mosque  at  Aboukir  .  .  .  .  .260 


XI 


CHAPTER    I 

PORT  SAID 

As  I  revise  these  notes  made  during  my  last  stay 
in  Egypt,  I  read  an  announcement  in  the  Press  of  a 
new  line  of  English  Turbine  Steamers  to  Egypt 
("  The  Egyptian  Mail  Steamship  Co.")  which  will 
do  the  trip  from  Marseilles  in  three,  from  Naples 
in  two,  days.  Things  change  quickly,  for  only 
last  year  I  underwent  no  less  than  four  days  of 
boredom  and  biliousness  between  Brindisi  and  Port 
Said  on  a  steamer  that  had  to  pass  through  the  Suez 
Canal  on  its  way  to  the  Far  East.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  end  to  my  discomfort,  when  I  was  suddenly 
awakened  to  the  full  consciousness  of  my  existence 
by  a  remark,  made  half  to  himself  by  a  fellow- 
passenger  with  his  eye  glued  to  a  telescope, — 
'*  Yes,  that  is  Egypt  right  enough."  I  soon  satis- 
fied myself  that  his  eye  needed  a  rest,  and,  begging 
leave  to  have  a  peep  myself,  with  trembling  fingers 
I  adjusted  the  focus  till  the  low-lying  coast  of 
Egypt  was  plainly  visible. 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

The  coast  lengthened  visibly,  for  what  at  first 
looked  like  two  islands  proved  to  be  one  piece, 
as  a  yet  more  distant  bit  of  land  gradually 
came  into  sight.  This  long  line  of  coast  then 
seemed  to  disintegrate,  form  itself  into  islands, 
disappear,  and  be  picked  up  again  far  to  the  west. 
By  referring  to  the  map  these  changes  were  ex- 
plained, for  the  whole  coast  of  the  Delta,  except 
in  one  or  two  places,  is  but  a  narrow  strip  of 
land  separating  the  great  salt  lakes  from  the 
Mediterranean. 

The  aimless  pacing  up  and  down  the  deck,  and 
the  various  attempts  one  makes  to  kill  time,  had 
now  come  to  an  end.  Grey  wintry  skies  and 
troubled  waters  were  left  far  behind  us  ;  the 
sun  shone  benignly  down  from  a  soft  blue  ex- 
panse, and  the  gentlest  of  summer  breezes  im- 
parted an  inspiriting  freshness  to  the  dry,  warm 
air. 

The  great  steamer  ploughed  its  rapid  way 
through  the  yellowish-green  water  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Nile  ;  then,  away  to  our  right,  a 
low-lying,  golden  sand-marsh  outstretched  itself, 
and  now,  far  ahead,  the  outline  of  a  lighthouse  and 
the  masts  of  many  ships  came  into  view. 

Presently,  extending  itself  towards  us  through 
the  water,  a  long,  grey  line  appeared,  which,  as 
we  approached,  resolved  itself  into  a  huge  length 

2 


PORT    SAID 

of  breakwater  ;  and,  beyond  it,  upon  our  right 
hand,  the  confused  outline  of  houses,  of  a  town, 
grew  gradually  clear. 

Slowly,  and  yet  slower,  the  steamer  glided  along, 
until,  amid  many  peremptory  orders  from  the 
captain's  bridge,  much  shouting  and  running  to 
and  fro  of  Lascars,  and  excited  preparation  on  the 
part  of  passengers,  the  engines  ceased  working,  the 
great  anchor  was  slowly  dropped,  and  our  vessel 
settled  into  her  berth  in  the  still  waters  of  the 
harbour  of  Port  Said. 

It  was  a  thrilling  moment  to  a  new-comer  ! 
There,  there,  across  the  pale,  shining  sands,  lay 
Egypt — the  land  of  the  Mysterious  River,  the 
magic  country  of  one's  longing  dreams.  The  land 
of  mosque  and  minaret,  of  turban  and  of  yashmak, 
of  Pharaoh  and  pyramid  and  sphinx,  of  desert  and 
of  camel  :  the  old,  old  land  of  wonder,  of  strange, 
weird  mysteries  ;  perplexing  tokens  left  from  the 
days  when  the  world  was  young — enduring  there 
in  the  golden  sand  beside  the  grand  old  river — a 
heritage  from  the  dawn  of  the  ages. 

The  still  water  of  the  harbour  was  of  a  pale, 
greenish  hue,  and  so  marvellously  clear  that  one 
could  watch  the  gliding  jelly-fishes  far  below  the 
surface — wonderful  jelly-fishes,  resembling  huge 
button-mushrooms,  of  a  beautiful,  heliotrope  trans- 
parency, with  long  streamers  floating  out  beyond 

3  B  2 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

them.  Away  across  the  marshes  to  our  right  the 
sun  was  now  setting  in  serenest  splendour.  Not  a 
fleck  of  cloud  upon  the  sky,  but,  above  us,  the 
most  gloriously  pure  tints  of  azure,  which,  towards 
the  west,  imperceptibly  toned  into  faint  green, 
fainter  aquamarine,  and  pale  lemon,  and  then  was 
merged  into  a  wealth  of  golden  splendour  ;  the 
whole  indescribably  calm,  clear  and  majestic  in 
effect. 

"  Oh,  East  is  East,  and  West  is  West,  and  never  the  twain  shall 

meet/' 

Even  here  upon  the  water,  ere  ever  we  had 
landed,  all  was  strange  and  picturesque.  Scarcely 
had  our  ship  settled  herself  into  place  before  a 
score  of  small  boats  clustered  round  her,  filled  with 
eager,  gesticulating  natives,  with  goods  for  barter  ; 
fruit  and  cigars,  beads  and  feathers  ;  others 
bringing  boys,  who,  for  few  pence,  would  make 
wondrous  dives  beneath  the  ship,  appearing  a 
moment  later,  with  white  teeth  all  agleam,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  great  vessel.  In  one  boat  the 
rowers  were  chanting  a  native  air  from  which  a 
once-popular  London  music-hall  refrain  was  taken, 
"  Ta-ra-ra-boom  de  aye  !  "  How  familiar,  and  yet 
how  strange,  heard  here,  in  these  surroundings. 

Then,  gliding  ominously  towards  us  in  the 
evening  light,  came  a  string  of  broad  barges, 

4 


PORT   SAID 

black,  black,  from  stem  to  stern  ;  bearing  black 
cargo,  and  all  alive  with  moving,  chattering  black 
atoms,  looking  like  doomed  creatures  from  the 
nether  world — the  coal  barges,  already  on  their 
way  to  replenish  the  dark,  yawning  cavern  in  our 
vessel's  midst,  with  food  for  the  mighty  monster 
lurking  there,  whose  fiercely  throbbing  heart  was 
stilled  for  a  space. 

Their  advent  meant  the  closing  of  the  port- 
holes and  doors  of  the  ship,  to  exclude,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  all-penetrating  coal  dust  ;  so  we 
hastened  to  collect  our  belongings  and  to  steer  our 
course  in  the  direction  of  the  gangway,  for  it  was 
now  necessary  to  prepare  to  put  foot  on  the  shore 
of  Egypt.  However  much  one  might  wish  to 
indulge  in  the  delightful  sensations  that  arriving 
in  a  new  country  conjure  up,  it  was  now  only  at 
odd  moments  that  one  could  do  so,  for  boatmen, 
porters,  custom-house  officers,  and  hotel  touts  have 
little  respect  for  sentiment,  and  insist  on  claiming 
most  of  one's  attention.  Messrs.  Cook  and  Son 
have  done  much  to  mitigate  this  evil,  and  save  the 
new-comer  a  great  deal  of  worry  and  expense,  but 
until  certain  formalities  have  been  gone  through 
one  is  compelled  to  drop  the  Egypt  of  the  Past 
and  content  oneself  with  the  Egypt  of  the  Present. 
I  was  well  aware  that  Port  Said  was  not  a  place 
for  a  painter  to  loiter  in,  so  I  made  up  my  mind 

5 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

not  to  consider  it  as  a  part  of  Egypt,  but  merely 
as  a  European  excrescence,  and  decided  to  clear 
out  as  soon  as  the  first  Cairo  train  left. 

A  good  deal  of  the  journey  to  the  capital  was 
through  a  hungry-looking  country,  with  the 
partially  drained  lake  of  Menzaleh  to  the  right 
and  the  Arabian  desert  to  the  left,  and  the  Suez 
Canal  in  the  immediate  foreground.  It  seemed  as 
though  one  was  never  to  lose  sight  of  this  canal, 
and  its  important  bearings  on  commerce  and 
politics  failed  to  compensate  me  for  its  ugliness. 
But  I  partially  succeeded  in  blotting  it  out  of  sight 
by  sitting  very  low  down  on  the  seat,  bringing  the 
window-sill  just  below  my  horizon. 

There  was  much  to  enjoy  beyond.  The  long 
stretches  of  desert  which  connect  Egypt  with  the 
Sinai  Peninsula  have  a  peculiar  charm  of  their 
own  ;  it  was,  moreover,  my  first  sight  of  the  desert, 
and  though,  since  then,  I  have  spent  months  in 
the  wilderness,  and  seen  it  in  all  its  aspects,  that 
first  sight  of  it  still  stands  out  clearly  in  my 
memory.  Imagination  was  fired.  This  was 
probably  the  first  sight  the  child  Jesus  saw  when 
Mary  and  Joseph  made  their  pilgrimage  into 
Egypt  to  seek  refuge  from  the  wrath  of  Herod. 
At  what  point  did  they  cross  the  track  which 
I  was  travelling  ?  Did  Mary  look  like  that  fellah 
woman  riding  to  the  station  on  a  donkey  ?  The 

6 


PORT   SAID 

dress  she  wore  had  altered  little  in  shape  in  the 
past  two  thousand  years.  The  shawl  that  partially 
hid  her  face  was  also  a  wrapping  for  a  babe  which 
she  carried  in  her  arms.  As  they  approached, 
some  chance  movement  of  the  child  drew  the 
veil  from  its  mother's  face,  and,  alas,  the  illusion 
was  gone  ! 

Some  ten  years  later  I  was  again  going  to  Cairo 
by  this  route  ;  the  steam  tramway  that  formerly 
took  us  as  far  as  Ismailia  had  given  place  to  a 
well  laid  line,  with  trains  running  Pullman  cars, 
restaurant,  &c.,  &c.  Some  ugly  erection  here  and 
there,  and  a  few  advertisements,  were  the  only 
other  signs  I  noticed  of  the  increased  prosperity  of 
the  country.  I  could  have  dispensed  with  the 
latter,  but  I  was  thankful  to  be  able  to  do  the 
journey  in  about  half  the  former  time  ;  for  the 
heat  was  intense,  and,  owing  to  a  stoppage  in  the 
Suez  Canal,  the  train  was  very  crowded. 

Though  the  landscape  to  the  right  of  me  was 
apparently  unchanged,  I  was  amazed  at  the  altered 
appearance  of  the  desert  on  my  left.  Where  I 
remembered  seeing  but  an  arid  waste  I  now  beheld 
great  stretches  of  water,  with  islands  and  palm 
groves.  It  certainly  was  the  time  of  the  high 
Nile,  but  I  was  sure  that  its  waters  could  not  reach 
so  great  a  distance.  I  consulted  my  map,  and  got 
little  help  from  that  ;  but  on  asking  a  native  who 

7 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

was  sitting  near  me  whether  there  was  always 
water  in  that  direction,  he  answered,  "  Mirage." 
Never  before  had  I  seen  this  phenomenon  in  so 
realistic  a  manner,  and,  wishing  to  share  my  joy 
with  some  steamer  acquaintances  who  were  in 
another  compartment,  I  hurried  off  to  point  this 
out  to  them.  A  careless  "  Oh,  indeed  !  "  from 
some  of  the  fair  sex,  and  a  question  from  one  of  the 
men  as  to  whether  I  could  tell  him  "  the  exact 
width  of  the  canal,"  hurried  me  back  to  my  part  of 
the  train. 

Pulling  up,  later  on,  at  a  commonplace  little 
station,  the  guard  calling  out  "  Tel-el-Kebir  "  was 
rather  startling,  but  I  did  not  attempt  to  share 
my  emotions  with  my  unsympathetic  friends  of  the 
mirage. 

Not  before  reaching  Zakazik  does  one  fully 
realise  that  one  is  in  the  Delta,  where  one  recalls 
the  saying  of  Herodotus,  "  Egypt  is  the  gift  of  the 
river  "  ;  for  though  the  Nile  itself  is  not  seen  till 
the  train  nears  Beulia,  its  influence  is  felt  every- 
where. Some  of  the  landscape  is  very  fine  ;  well 
wooded,  with  picturesque  water-courses.  The 
ruins  of  Bubastis  are  near  Zakazik  ;  these  were 
excavated  by  Professor  Naville  some  twenty  years 
ago,  but  though  of  considerable  archaeological 
interest,  their  pictorial  aspect  hardly  repays  a  visit. 
Bulak  looks  disappointing  from  the  railway  station, 

8 


PORT    SAID 

and  being  within  such  easy  reach  of  Cairo  one  is 
loath  to  break  the  journey.  In  another  twenty 
minutes  or  so,  looking  out  to  the  right  of  the  way 
you  are  travelling,  you  will  catch  your  first  glimpse 
of  the  Gizeh  Pyramids.  Seen  at  this  distance  it  is 
hard  to  realise  their  size,  and  although  I  was 
neither  disappointed  nor  the  reverse,  I  felt  my 
heart  beating  faster  ;  and  had  the  railway  guard 
asked  for  one  more  clip  at  my  ticket  at  that 
moment,  I  might  have  become  dangerous.  The 
train  rushes  on.  The  Delta  now  visibly  contracts; 
the  two  ranges  of  hills  that  enclose  the  Nile  valley 
come  into  sight,  the  Mosque  of  Mohammed  Ali, 
which  crowns  the  citadel,  looms  in  the  distance, 
and  you  realise  that  your  journey  is  coming  to  an 
end. 


CHAPTER   II 

MASR  EL  KAHIRA 

SHOULD  any  of  my  readers,  arriving  in  Cairo  for 
the  first  time,  imagine,  as  I  did,  that  they  will  at 
once  drop  into  a  city  saturated  with  the  spirit  of 
the  East,  they  will  feel  the  same  disappointment  as 
myself,  and  a  word  of  comfort  may  not  be  out  of 
place  here.  The  drive  from  the  station  to  any 
of  the  hotels  is  through  a  part  of  Cairo  that  is  no 
more  like  the  Masr  el  Kahira  painted  by  Lewis, 
or  described  by  Lane  or  Amelia  B.  Edwards,  than 
Peckham  resembles  Pekin.  Hardly  a  house  that 
we  see  here  existed  forty  years  ago  ;  and,  from  the 
look  of  them,  they  may  tumble  down  before 
another  forty  years  elapse.  The  builders  of  these 
erections  had  beautiful  models  near  at  hand  to 
inspire  them  ;  but  that  fatal  "  L'Egypte  fait 
partie  de  1'Europe  "  of  Ismail  Pasha  turned  their 
attention  to  Paris,  and  now  we  have  a  shoddy 
imitation  of  that  capital,  with  here  and  there  some 
erection  run  up  "  en  style  Arabe "  or  "  en  style 

10 


EL-FOUYATEAH,  CAIRO 


MASK   EL    KAHIRA 

Egyptien,"  or,  worse  still,  "Tart  nouveau  "  as  under- 
stood by  the  Levantine  architect.  You  will  find 
your  hotel  "  replete  with  every  modern  comfort," 
as  the  advertisements  have  it — and  your  bill  pro- 
portionately high — but  with  very  little  character- 
istically Eastern  about  the  place,  beyond  a  few  bad 
reproductions  of  some  of  the  temple  wall  paintings, 
and  some  waiters  dressed  in  a  garment  which  looks 
like  a  night-shirt,  girt  about  with  a  red  sash,  and 
the  nearest  imitation  to  a  flower-pot  on  their  heads ; 
features  which  may  or  may  not  assist  you  to  realise 
that  you  have  come  to  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
cities  in  the  world.  Take  comfort,  however,  and 
look  forward  to  a  stroll  round  the  old  town  on  the 
morrow,  which,  if  you  are  in  search  of  the  oriental 
and  the  beautiful,  will  exceed  all  your  expectations. 
Indeed,  the  mile  or  two  that  separate  your  hotel 
from  the  Khan  Khalil  seem  to  separate  the  East 
from  the  West,  in  everything  but  climate. 

Much  has  been  improved  away  since  my  first 
visit  ;  the  canal  that  crossed  the  old  city  from  north 
to  south — El  Khalig,  as  it  is  still  called — is  now 
filled  in,  and  an  electric  tramway  runs  along 
it  ;  many  a  Meshrebiya  window  is  now 
replaced  by  sashes  made  in  Sweden,  and 
a  good  number  of  old  houses  have  either  been 
pulled  down  or  else  modernised  out  of  all  recogni- 
tion ;  but  still  so  much  remains  to  incite  the 

1 1 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

imagination,  and  to  make  one  long  to  set  up  one's 
easel,  that  it  is  better  not  to  indulge  in  vain 
regrets. 

Starting  from  the  Ezbekiyeh,  which  is  the  centre 
of  the  European  quarter,  an  uninteresting  little 
street  behind  the  Bristol  Hotel  will  lead  you 
through  a  labyrinth  of  lanes  and  alleys  into  the 
Suk  ez  Zalat.  You  will  do  well  to  have  a  guide, 
for  already  the  rectangular  plan  of  the  modern 
town  has  ceased,  and  the  streets  turn  and  twist 
about,  with  a  knack  of  ending  nowhere,  in  the 
characteristic  way  of  an  oriental  city.  This  first 
part  of  your  exploration  is  through  a  disreputable 
quarter  indeed  ;  for  here  all  that  is  squalidly 
vicious  in  Europe  and  the  near  East  flourishes  ;  but 
it  is  quiet  enough  in  the  morning,  when  the  least 
desirable  inhabitants  are  still  sleeping  off  the  orgies 
of  the  previous  night. 

Once  safely  landed  in  the  Fouyatieh  and  you 
will  have  left  Cairo  improper  behind  you  and  will 
really  be  getting  into  Cairo  proper.  A  mosque 
and  a  row  of  lattice-windowed  houses  to  the 
right  might  serve  as  a  setting  to  some  Arabian 
Night's  story.  An  unpretentious-looking  doorway, 
shadowed  by  the  projecting  upper  floor  and 
ponderous  bay  windows,  leads  into  the  courtyard  of 
a  typical  Cairene  house,  once  inhabited  by  some 
wealthy  merchant,  but  now  let  out  in  tenements. 

12 


MASK   EL   KAHIRA 

Should  you  be  fortunate  enough  to  hap  upon  a 
guide  who  has  been  used  to  conducting  artists,  he 
will  be  able  to  show  you  many  such  houses  ;  and 
I  may  here  mention  the  name  of  one  who  has 
followed  the  writer,  in  his  search  for  the  pictur- 
esque, into  every  hole  and  corner  of  Cairo.  His 
name  is  "  Mohammed  el  Asmar,"  but  he  elects  to 
call  himself  "Mohammed  Brown,"  the  latter  name 
being  a  literal  translation  of  "  Asmar  "  ;  "  besides,  am 
I  not  brown  ?  "  he  argued,  in  justification  of  his 
change  of  surname.  With  the  aid  of  Mohammed 
I  used  this  court-yard  as  an  outdoor  studio  for  some 
time,  he  being  able  to  procure  me  water-carriers, 
sellers  of  sherbet  and  other  drinks,  donkeys, 
camels,  and  all  the  other  living  objects  of  interest 
of  a  Cairo  street.  While  he  haggled  and 
bargained  with  my  models,  I  was  able  to  make 
studies  of  the  arabesque  door  and  the  pretty  bits  of 
Meshrebiya  seats  which  I  hope  have  not  now 
gone  the  way  of  so  much  that  is  picturesque. 

Meshrebiya  is  the  Arabic  name  for  the  turned 
woodwork  that  was  so  much  used  for  screens, 
lattice  windows,  and  furniture  generally  ;  it  admits 
the  air,  subdues  the  light,  and  also  allows  the 
women-folk  to  get  a  peep  into  the  outside  world 
without  their  being  seen.  This  is  well  in  keeping, 
in  a  Mohammedan  town,  where  shade  and  privacy 
are  essentials,  but  taken  away  from  its  surroundings, 

13 


BELOW  THE    CATARACTS 

and  set  up  in  some  suburban  villa  at  home,  it 
appears  singularly  out  of  place.  Tons  of  this 
woodwork  have  been  bought  by  dealers,  and  sold 
to  tourists  to  be  made  up  into  draughty  screens, 
summer  houses,  and  even  picture-frames,  which 
are  all  doomed  to  be  cast  aside  later,  when  the 
unfortunate  purchaser  has  fully  realised  the  un- 
suitableness  of  his  bargain.  I  know  of  one  case 
where  the  woodwork  of  a  fine  old  Cairene  house 
has  been  rotting  in  a  barn  in  Surrey  ever  since  the 
despoiler  brought  it  to  England  some  forty  years 
ago.  Struck  by  its  beauty  when  he  saw  it  in  its 
proper  surroundings,  he  hoped  that  his  architect 
would  be  able  to  make  use  of  it  for  a  house  he 
was  about  to  build  ;  but  the  sunlight  of  Surrey 
could  not  stand  such  an  amount  of  subduing  ;  the 
Nordracht  treatment  had  not  then  brought  draughts 
into  fashion  ;  nor  did  his  women-folk  see  the 
necessity  for  hiding  their  pretty  faces  behind  the 
lattice. 

The  regrettable  part  is  that  this  old  woodwork 
is  never  replaced  in  Cairo,  for,  as  the  houses  in  the 
older  parts  of  the  city  do  not  repay  their  owners, 
the  drainage  has  been  shockingly  neglected,  and 
those  who  can  afford  it  clear  out  and  build  some 
bastard-looking  modern  house  in  the  newer 
quarters. 

Let    us    continue    our  walk   along   the    Suk    ez 

'4 


STREET  OFF  THE  SUK   EZ-ZALAT,  CAIRO 


MASK   EL    KAHIRA 

Zalat.  The  sights  become  more  bewildering  as  we 
get  nearer  the  heart  of  the  city  ;  and  as  the  street 
narrows  so  the  noise  increases.  Camels  move 
slowly  along,  quite  indifferent  to  the  excitable 
cabmen,  who  may  be  cursing  the  shades  of  their 
fathers  because  they  do  not  get  out  of  the  way; 
the  man  with  the  long-bodied  and  seatless  donkey- 
cart  that  still  does  duty  as  an  omnibus  joins  in  the 
clamour;  "  May  your  women-folk  only  bear  pigs  !  " 
he  yells  out  to  the  camel-driver,  and  should  the 
block  become  apparently  hopeless,  advice  is  shouted 
out  by  most  of  the  onlookers,  while  some  jest 
from  a  donkey-boy  who  has  managed  to  squeeze 
his  beast  through  sets  the  crowd  laughing.  Then, 
somehow,  the  camels  manage  to  move  on,  with  an 
expression  of  supreme  contempt  for  the  curses, 
jeers  and  jests  that  have  been  showered  upon  them 
and  their  drivers. 

As  the  sun  gets  higher  in  the  heavens  the  strip 
of  shade  narrows  on  the  north-eastern  side  of  the 
Suk,  and  before  one  reaches  the  end  of  this  long 
street  the  tradesmen  have  let  down  their  awnings 
upon  each  side  of  the  road.  It  is  a  relief  to  turn 
the  corner  and  not  to  face  the  sun  for  a  while. 

El  Nahassin  is  now  reached,  and  while  the  life 
and  bustle  are  as  picturesque  as  ever,  the  beauty 
increases,  for  soon,  on  the  right-hand  side,  we  see 
the  domes  and  minarets  of  the  group  of  mosques 

'5 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

that  surround  the  Muristan.  The  Sebil  Abd  er 
Rahmdn,  on  the  left  where  the  roads  widens,  is  a 
good  place  from  which  to  enjoy  this  view  ;  it  is  at 
the  bifurcation  of  the  two  streets,  thus  permitting 
you  to  stand  and  look  down  the  centre  of  this 
highway,  which  it  is  often  difficult  to  do,  now  that 
the  traffic  is  so  much  congested  by  the  free  use 
of  European  cabs. 

The  various  "  Sebils  "  are  a  characteristic  feature 
of  Cairo.  Formerly  the  chief  water  supply,  they 
are  still  used  as  drinking  fountains.  They  are 
maintained  out  of  the  religious  endowments,  and 
are  nearly  always  surmounted  by  a  class-room, 
from  the  open  windows  of  which  the  sing-song 
of  the  children  learning  their  Koran  comes  wafted 
down  to  you. 

The  steps  of  this  particular  Sebil  form  a  good 
vantage  ground  from  which  to  make  a  sketch  of 
this  fascinating  scene.  A  dingy  old  palace  is  on 
your  left,  and  the  houses  beyond,  on  each  side 
of  the  street,  are  being  left  to  crumble  away  in 
peace.  Where  the  Meshrebiya  of  the  windows 
has  gone  in  places,  an  old  piece  of  sacking  "  stops 
a  hole  to  keep  the  wind  away,"  and  the  charming 
bit  of  fret-work  that  forms  the  curtain  of  the  bay 
hangs  here  and  there  by  a  thread,  until  it  makes  up 
its  mind  which  turbaned  head  it  will  descend  upon. 
These  signs  of  decay  may  be  seen  in  many  a 

16 


MASK   EL    KAHIRA 

Continental  town,  where  the  street  is  grass-grown 
and  silent,  but  here  the  contrast  is  startling  ;  the 
road  is  crowded,  and  on  the  ground  floor  of  each 
house  someone  is  either  busy  plying  his  trade  or 
enticing  customers  to  buy  his  wares.  Nothing 
seems  to  be  done  indoors ;  food  is  hawked  about 
and  eaten  in  the  shade  in  summer,  and  on  any 
sunny  doorstep  in  winter  ;  men  sit  smoking  their 
narghilehs  and  sipping  their  coffee  outside  the 
coffee-house,  for  the  inside  is  often  but  a  box 
with  barely  room  for  the  host  to  cater  for  his 
clientele  ;  the  barber  will  shave  the  head,  or 
possibly  bleed,  or  draw  the  tooth  of  a  patient, 
either  at  his  doorway  or  on  a  bench  outside  ;  the 
scribe  will  sit  in  the  open  to  draw  up  a  deed,  to 
write  a  love-letter  for  some  veiled  young  woman 
squatting  near  him,  or  to  bear  witness  to  a  bargain 
struck  by  a  fellah  and  some  townsman.  Privacy  is 
only  a  matter  of  sex.  The  donkey-boy  will  beat  his 
wife  should  she  cross  the  road  unveiled,  but  his 
father  may  have  haggled  for  weeks  over  the  sum 
to  be  paid  for  his  daughter-in-law,  with  an  in- 
quisitive crowd  around  listening  and  commenting 
on  every  detail. 

This  being  a  part  of  the  main  artery  of  the  city, 
running  from  the  north  to  the  south,  the  traffic 
is  often  considerable,  and  it  is  a  keen  delight  to 
watch  this  pass,  in  all  its  colour  and  picturesque- 

17  c 


BELOW  THE    CATARACTS 

ness,  before  a  long  familiarity  with  it  has  caused 
one  to  forget  the  drabness  and  gloom  of  a  crowd 
in  a  London  street. 

Let  us  now  move  on.  What  a  grand  old  house 
is  this  to  the  right  !  While  you  are  admiring  it 
an  old  Sheykh  opens  a  lattice  window  and  calls  out 
the  hour  of  prayer  ;  and  from  every  minaret,  in 
either  soft  or  loud,  high-pitched  or  deep,  sonorous 
voice,  do  you  hear  the  cry  of  the  muezzin,  "  La 
ilaha  iH'allah,  wa  Muhamed  rasul  allah."  On  a 
Friday  the  faithful  will  often  close  their  shutters, 
and  hurry  off  with  their  customers  to  join  the 
"  Duhr,"  or  midday  prayer.  But  why  should  the 
muezzin  call  from  this  wonderful  looking  house? 
This  puzzled  me  a  good  deal  while  I  was  sitting  in 
the  little  cafe  opposite  painting  my  sketch.  The 
faithful  Mohammed  Brown,  who  had  hitherto  sat 
near  me  to  keep  off  the  small  boys  and  flies, 
hurriedly  asked  the  landlord  to  keep  an  eye  on  me, 
ran  across  the  road,  took  his  shoes  off,  and  dis- 
appeared through  the  portal,  to  return  some  twenty 
minutes  later  with  an  apology  for  leaving  me  so 
abruptly;  he  had  quite  forgotten  that  it  was  Friday 
till  he  heard  the  call  to  prayer,  and  it  was  all  he 
could  do  to  get  through  his  ablutions  in  time  to  join 
in  the  "  Duhr."  I  discovered  then  that  the  subject 
of  my  sketch  was  a  mosque,  with  the  sheykh's  house 
built  alongside  and  above  the  porch,  the  original 

18 


THE  SHEYKH'S  HOUSE  IN  THE  NAHASSIN,  CAIRO 


- 


/ 


MASK   EL   KAHIRA 

building  being  so  hidden  from  the  street  that  the 
muezzin  had  to  shout  from  the  sheykh's  bedroom 
window.  The  way  the  architect  managed  to  fit 
this  dwelling  on  to  the  original  building  is  wonder- 
ful. A  good  deal  of  the  ornamental  woodwork 
has  disappeared,  but  enough  remains  to  make  it  one 
of  the  most  picturesque  bits  in  Cairo.  That  there 
should  be  a  little  cafe  hidden  away  in  the  archway 
opposite,  making  a  safe  place  from  which  to  sketch  it, 
was  a  matter  for  self-congratulation.  To  get  another 
view  of  it,  with  the  group  of  mosques  beyond,  I 
had  to  make  a  bargain  with  a  vendor  of  goads  and 
walking-sticks  to  allow  me  to  sit  on  his  counter. 
After  much  haggling,  Mohammed  got  me  this  con- 
cession for  five  shillings,  and  it  was  arranged  that  I 
might  monopolise  the  vendor's  counter  for  five  con- 
secutive days.  He  insisted  on  being  paid  in  advance, 
which  I  thought  was  suspicious ;  however,  witnesses 
to  the  payment  were  procured  from  the  cafe,  so  I 
decided  to  risk  it.  All  that  morning  my  vendor 
of  goads  sat  rather  nearer  to  me  than  I  liked ;  but, 
on  arriving  there  the  next  day,  I  found  the  shutters 
up,  and  concluded  that  I  had  been  done.  A 
neighbouring  shopman  after  a  while  informed  us 
that  Mustapha  of  the  goads  had  left  the  key  of 
his  shop  at  the  cafe,  with  a  message  that  his 
counter  was  mine  for  a  whole  week,  while  he  was 
visiting  some  relations  in  the  country.  "  After  all," 

19  c  2 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

said  the  neighbour,  "  his  counter  is  bringing  him 
in  more  now  than  when  he  was  keeping  shop,  for 
the  trade  in  sticks  generally  is  very  slack  now;  and 
he  has  not  seen  his  people  for  some  years." 

We  now  pass  the  mosque  of  Sultan  Barkuk, 
pausing  to  notice  its  marble  portal  and  bronze- 
mounted  door  next  the  Tomb-mosque  of 
Mohammed  en  Nasr,  which  joins  the  Muristan,  or 
hospital,  built  by  Sultan  el  Mansur  Kalaun  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth  century.  This 
great  Mamluk  Sultan  built  and  endowed  this 
hospital  as  a  thank-offering  after  being  cured  of  a 
dangerous  illness.  His  mosque  and  tomb  adjoin  it. 
We  shall  refer  to  this  beautiful  group  of  buildings 
later  on. 

Should  the  reader  be  an  old  traveller  he  will  need 
no  advice  from  me,  and  can  skip  this  page  ;  but 
should  he  find  himself  in  the  East  for  the  first  time, 
and  not  be  attempting  to  do  the  whole  of  Egypt 
during  a  Christmas  holiday,  I  should  recommend 
him  to  spread  his  sight-seeing  over  a  good  many 
more  days  than  most  guide-books  allot  to  it.  The 
bored  look  of  the  tourists  as  they  are  being  rushed 
from  place  to  place,  and  their  expression  of  dismay 
when  told  of  one  more  thing  they  must  see  before 
returning  to  the  hotel,  justifies  me  in  holding  the 
view  that  the  art  of  enjoying  travel  is  only  partially 
understood.  Treat  your  mind  and  your  eyes  with 

20 


MASK   EL    KAHIRA 

as  much  respect  as  you  would  treat  your  stomach, 
only  attempting  to  see  as  much  in  one  day  as  you 
can  enjoy  and  digest,  and  you  will  carry  away  much 
pleasanter  and  more  lasting  recollections  of  your 
holiday.  To  watch  the  life  in  the  streets,  the 
various  trades  that  are  plied  within  sight  of  all, 
the  wares  displayed  in  shops  and  bazaars,  the  strange 
costumes  of  the  men  and  women  buying  and  selling, 
lolling  about  in  the  sun  in  winter,  or  squatting  in 
groups  in  summer  wherever  an  awning  or  porch 
casts  a  shadow — this  is  surely  as  much  as  one  can 
enjoy  in  a  morning. 


21 


CHAPTER    III 
IN  THE  BAZAARS 

AROUND  the  Muristan  we  realise  more  than  at 
any  other  point  in  this  long  thoroughfare  that  we 
are  in  the  "  Nahassin,"  or  coppersmiths'  market. 
Hitherto  we  have  seen  many  other  goods  made  and 
laid  out  for  sale,  to  wit,  the  wares  of  our  friend  of 
the  goads,  but  here  the  coppersmith's  craft  holds  its 
sway  as  in  days  of  old.  Strange  vessels  are  still 
being  hammered  into  shapes  that  might  have 
adorned  Haroun  al  Raschid's  kitchen  dresser.  It  is 
consoling  to  reflect  that  this  is  still  a  living  handi- 
craft, that  these  coffee-pots  and  kettles  should  still 
have  retained  their  beautiful  forms,  and  are  being 
made  by  Cairene  craftsmen,  to  be  bought  by  the 
natives,  and  not  merely  displayed  to  tempt  some 
tourist.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  have  never  seen  one 
of  these  being  sold  to  the  "  Firangi."  They  are  too 
bulky,  perhaps,  to  pack  away  in  a  portmanteau,  or 
may  be  the  smith  and  dragoman  have  not  been  able 
to  come  to  terms  as  to  the  commission  the  latter  is 

22 


A  COURTYARD  IN  THE  HANAFIEH  QUARTER 


- 


IN   THE    BAZAARS 

to  get  out  of  a  purchase.  The  stalls  that  a  few 
years  ago  stood  at  the  base  of  two  of  the  mosques 
here  have  now  been  cleared  away,  with  a  certain 
loss  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  scene. 

Further  on,  a  narrow  turning  on  your  right  leads 
into  the  goldsmiths'  bazaar.  The  several  alleys  which 
one  passes  through  before  one  emerges  again  into 
the  main  thoroughfare  are  here  so  narrow  as  not  to 
admit  of  two  people  walking  abreast ;  the  shops  are 
mere  open  cupboards  with  a  frontage  of  three  or 
four  feet;  the  floor  is  raised  about  two  feet,  and 
forms  a  seat  for  the  customer.  This  little  box  of  a 
place  serves  as  workshop  and  show-room  ;  the 
"  guhargi "  or  jeweller  squats  here  all  day  cross- 
legged,  and  need  hardly  move  from  his  position,  as 
all  his  goods  are  within  easy  reach,  and  his  cup  of 
coffee  or  green  tea  is  brought  to  him  in  answer  to 
a  clap  of  his  hands.  His  type  of  countenance 
differs  little  from  that  of  his  neighbours  in  the 
Nahassin,  but  a  slight  difference  in  his  dress  tells 
you  that  he  is  not  a  follower  of  the  Prophet.  On 
Saturdays  you  will  find  most  of  these  shops  closed,, 
and  if  you  can  decipher  the  names  over  the  locked 
doors  you  will  find  neither  that  of  "  Hassan  "  nor 
"Mohamed,"  but  "  Ibn  Yusef,"  "Ibrahim,"  or 
"  Ben  Sande  "  bear  silent  testimony  that  the  occu- 
pants are  still  mindful  of  the  laws  their  forefathers 
set  before  them.  On  any  day  but  the  Sabbath  these 

23 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

alleys  composing  the  "  Suk  es-Saigh  "  are  almost 
impassable.  Women  will  sit  for  hours  on  the 
"  mastaba,"  or  door-step,  watching  their  ornaments 
being  made,  or  cheapening  some  necklace  they  con- 
template purchasing.  The  patience  of  the  mer- 
chant seems  inexhaustible.  I  have  seen  the  whole 
contents  of  his  shop  turned  over  without  a  single 
article  being  bought,  and  yet  he  would  dismiss  his 
visitor  with  the  same  blessing  that  a  Christian  dealer 
might  only  reserve  for  a  solid  customer.  His  coloured 
silk  robes  contrast  curiously  with  the  black  garb  of 
his  female  client.  He  knows  nothing  of  her  ;  the 
black  veil  that  hides  her  face,  with  the  exception  of 
a  pair  of  beautiful  eyes,  so  disguises  her  that  he 
would  not  recognise  her  again.  She  may  come  and 
sell  her  jewels  here  in  public,  and  no  one  will  be  a 
bit  the  wiser  as  to  who  it  is  who  has  to  realise. 
Were  a  man  to  dispose  of  his  plate,  the  whole 
bazaar  would  soon  know  who  he  was,  and  be  dis- 
cussing the  losses  that  compelled  him  to  part  with 
his  valuables  ;  for  the  Cairene  is  extremely  inquisi- 
tive in  everything  relating  to  money.  It  cannot 
be  said  that  the  "  Yashmak,"  with  that  curious  brass 
cylinder  fixed  between  the  wearer's  eyes  to  keep 
the  veil  in  place,  is  becoming  ;  its  folds  are  tanta- 
lising, for  should  her  nose,  mouth  and  chin  be  as 
fine  as  her  eyes,  she  must  be  a  beautiful  woman. 
Modesty  compels  her  to  hide  her  well-shaped 

24 


IN   THE    BAZAARS 

figure  in  the  long  black  shawl,  but  she  enshrouds  it 
with  such  art  that  its  beauty  gains  rather  than  loses 
by  the  partial  concealment.  Contrary  to  her 
European  sister,  who  adorns  herself  most  lavishly 
when  about  to  appear  in  public,  her  coloured  gar- 
ments, and  the  necklet  she  hopes  to  buy,  will  rejoice 
the  eye  of  no  man  save  her  lord's,  and  will  only  be 
seen  by  her  lady  friends  in  the  shelter  of  the 
"  harem."  This  tantalising  veil,  which  may  hide 
so  much  beauty  in  her  case,  is  a  saving  grace  in 
many  others.  Compare  her  with  the  woman  who 
is  trying  on  an  earring  a  few  shops  further  on  ;  here 
the  "  Yashmak  "  has  been  discarded,  and  her  face 
proclaims  her  shame  ;  her  eyes  would  be  beautiful 
had  she  not  disfigured  them  with  "  Kohl,"  but  her 
painted  cheeks  and  coarse  mouth  decide  one  that, 
in  her  case,  the  veil  would  be  very  becoming — and 
the  black  shawl  too,  for  her  magenta  dress  with 
violet  spots  might  well  be  blotted  out  of  the 
picture. 

As  one  advances  further  into  this  bazaar  the  air 
gets  closer,  and  at  every  turning  one  looks  ahead, 
hoping  to  see  the  main  road  again.  Some 
"  fellah "  women,  blocking  the  way,  here  thrust 
themselves  into  "  Mousa's  "  cupboard  of  a  shop, 
to  let  the  "  Sawarhine  "  pass.  Slowly  you  move 
on,  until  at  last  you  reach  the  Nahassin,  and 
breathe  freely  once  more. 

25 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

Almost  opposite  to  you  now  is  the  entrance  to 
the  Khan  Khalil,  known  also  as  the  Turkish 
Bazaar.  Built  in  1300  by  the  Mameluke  Sultan, 
El  Ashraf  Khalil,  it  has  ever  since  been  the  com- 
mercial centre  of  the  old  town,  though  its  import- 
ance is  doubtless  very  much  less  now  that  large 
shops  and  stores  have  sprung  up  in  the  new  quarters 
of  Cairo  ;  shops  where  a  more  or  less  fixed  price 
saves  the  long  and  wearisome  bargaining  which  a 
purchase  in  the  native  quarter  entails.  It  is  still, 
however,  one  of  the  liveliest  and  most  picturesque 
places  in  the  town.  To  the  right  you  pass  some 
large  carpet  stores,  which  you  are  politely  asked  to 
enter  ;  on  your  left  silk  merchants  offer  "  Cufiyeh  " 
for  your  inspection.  These  are  silk  shawls  usually 
worn  by  Syrians  instead  of  the  turban.  If  you  look 
like  a  possible  purchaser,  a  Cingalee  will  press  you 
to  walk  into  his  shop,  and  whisper  that  his  goods 
are  only  half  the  price  of  his  Moslem  neighbour's. 
You  pass  on,  and  find  yourself  at  the  entrance  of  a 
slipper  bazaar,  where  you  look  down  an  avenue  of 
red  and  yellow  slippers  ;  stacked  on  counters,  hang- 
ing in  festoons  from  the  awnings,  and  in  clusters 
round  the  doorways— everywhere  slippers  !  Red 
is  the  prevailing  colour,  for  that  is  the  hue  the 
Cairene  prefers  for  his  foot-wear.  The  yellow 
ones  are  chiefly  brought  from  Tunis  or  Morocco, 
and  sold  to  the  country  folk.  Rolls  of  red  leather 

26 


IN   THE   BAZAARS 

are  stacked  up  in  the  little  shops,  where  men  are 
busy  cutting,  stitching  and  sewing  slippers,  and 
snips  of  red  are  strewn  about  the  floors.  No  sooner 
is  a  stranger  seen  looking  this  way  than  a  tout  will 
thrust  a  pair  of  slippers  under  his  nose  : — "  Only 
two  shilling  !  "  "  Come,  see  my  shop."  "  Very 
cheap  ! "  You  may  vainly  assure  this  bore  that 
your  portmanteau  is  stuffed  with  slippers  ;  that 
you  have  supplied  all  your  friends  and  relations 
with  slippers,  and  that  you  have  come  to  loathe 
the  sight  of  a  red  slipper.  "  Red  slipper  not  good," 
answers  the  bore,  "  see  my  Tunis  slippers  "  ;  then, 
while  he  hurries  off  to  get  a  yellow  pair,  you  may 
slip  into  the  carpet  bazaar,  as  a  means  of  escape. 
The  carpet  merchant  has  had  his  eye  on  you  all 
the  time  ;  others  have  tried  this  mode  of  escape. 
A  handsome  rug  is  deftly  unrolled  before  you, 
while  another  thrown  behind  you  cuts  off  your 
retreat.  "  Don't  care  for  red  carpets,"  you  say  in 
desperation  ;  and  the  moment  he  has  turned  his 
back  to  fetch  a  green  one,  you  clear  the  prostrate 
rug  and  make  for  the  outlet  in  front  of  you.  You 
are  in  the  main  alley  of  the  Khan  once  more,  and 
at  a  safe  distance  from  the  red  slippers,  but  the 
Cingalee,  who  can  give  the  Arab  points,  has  out- 
generalled  you.  He  has  a  number  of  "  KufEyeh  " 
thrown  over  one  shoulder,  and  while  congratulating 
you  that  "  Hussein,"  his  neighbour,  had  not  been 

27 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

able  to  foist  his  shoddy  goods  on  you,  he  unfolds 
the  shawl  which  he  feels  convinced  will  supply  a 
long  felt  want.  Your  words,  thrown  out  at  random, 
about  hating  red  slippers  and  not  caring  for  red 
rugs,  have  not  been  lost  on  him.  "  No  cheap 
German  dyes  here  !  "  he  whispers  in  pidjin  English, 
and  points  to  a  rather  prettily  striped  shawl  he  has 
thrown  over  his  arm.  He  sees  in  an  instant  that 
the  combination  of  colours  has  taken  your  fancy, 
though  you  may  flatter  yourself  that  you  have  not 
moved  a  muscle  of  your  face.  You  ask  the  price, 
in  spite  of  all  your  resolutions  to  buy  nothing  until 
you  know  more  of  the  place.  "  Only  six  shilleen," 
articulates  the  Cingalee,  confidentially,  looking 
anxiously  about  to  see  that  no  other  merchant  has 
heard  him  underselling  them  in  such  a  barefaced 
manner.  He  takes  care  not  to  notice  your  disap- 
proval, but  whispers  why  he  is  parting  with  this 
lovely  garment  so  much  below  cost  price.  One 
good  turn  deserves  another,  and  he  feels  sure  that 
you  will  mention  his  name  and  give  his  card  to  all 
your  friends  at  the  hotel ;  then  in  slow  and  measured 
words,  "  Kom  ividout  de  Dragoman  \  "  Politeness 
has  so  far  failed  to  wipe  this  limpet  off,  and  you 
decide  upon  a  course  of  rudeness.  This  he  receives 
with  such  grateful  smiles  that  you  begin  to  think 
he  likes  it.  As  a  last  resource  you  offer  him  a  third 
of  the  price  he  asked,  hoping  that  so  dire  an  insult 

28 


KHAN  EL-KHALfL,  CAIRO 


IN   THE   BAZAARS 

will  have  some  effect  upon  him  ;  but  the  beggar 
calmly  wraps  his  shawl  up  in  a  piece  of  paper, 
hands  it  to  you,  and  offers  you  a  second  at  the 
same  price.  He  leaves  you  standing  there,  one 
hand  full  of  his  cards,  the  parcel  in  the  other, 
wondering  why  he  did  not  try  splitting  the  differ- 
ence before  so  abruptly  accepting  your  price.  But 
the  reason  was  soon  evident  ;  a  party  of  tourists, 
whose  movements  he  had  never  lost  sight  of  for 
one  moment,  had  now  entered  the  carpet  bazaar  at 
the  entrance  from  which  you  had  escaped,  and 
would  in  due  course  emerge  from  the  entrance 
opposite  his  stall.  No  time  was  to  be  lost 
splitting  shillings  where  there  was  a  possibility 
of  splitting  pounds.  He  had  divined  your  hotel, 
and  that  of  the  new  party,  and  gauged  your 
spending  powers  in  consequence.  This  kind  of 
thing  somewhat  destroys  the  pleasure  of  a  stroll 
through  this  otherwise  delightful  Khan. 

One  of  the  most  enchanting  spots  is  where  the 
brass-workers  ply  their  trade  and  expose  their 
goods  for  sale.  The  Saracenic  gateway  with  its 
stalactite  vaulting  and  the  quaint  serpentine  orna- 
mentation is  very  beautiful.  The  original  colour- 
ing has  in  most  places  disappeared,  but  what 
remains  harmonises  in  a  charming  manner  with 
the  brown  and  pale  gold  of  the  stonework.  It 
would  be  hard  to  conceive  a  finer  setting  for  the 

29 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

brass  lamps,  bowls  and  dishes  displayed  upon  the 
stalls  on  each  side  of  the  entrance.  Lamps  hang 
from  every  stall  in  the  alley  which  leads  to  this 
gateway,  and  the  one  that  crosses  it  at  right  angles. 
What  a  picture  !  But  where  is  one  to  sit  to  attempt 
to  paint  it  ?  My  faithful  Mohammed  is  a  man 
of  tact,  but  could  all  his  ingenuity  ever  make  this 
a  possible  task  ?  It  seemed  impossible  to  obtain  a 
sketch  of  it  without  sitting  in  the  middle  of  the 
lane,  but  the  traffic  is  so  great  that  an  attempt 
from  that  point  of  vantage  had  to  be  given  up  as 
hopeless.  Arrangements  had  to  be  made  with  a 
brass-worker  to  allow  me  to  sit  on  his  stall  and 
to  place  some  of  his  furniture  between  me  and  a 
too  inquisitive  crowd,  who  had  soon  formed  up, 
three  deep,  to  see  what  I  was  about.  My  know- 
ledge of  Arabic  at  that  time  was  nil,  so  I  remained 
in  ignorance  of  the  magic  by  which  the  faithful  one 
was  able  to  get  all  these  concessions  from  the  owner 
of  the  shop.  The  latter  not  only  drove  the  small 
boys  away,  but  served  me  with  tea  and  cigarettes  ; 
attentions  which  were  rather  embarrassing,  as  I 
knew  I  had  begun  a  subject  that  meant  a  great 
many  sittings,  and  I  was  not  in  a  position  to  buy 
half  his  lamps  to  compensate  him  for  the  trouble  I 
should  give  him.  However,  my  work  soon  en- 
grossed all  my  thoughts,  and  the  friendly  shopman 
ceased  to  exist  for  me.  What  a  bothersome  thing 

3° 


IN   THE   BAZAARS 

it  was  to  paint  !  No  sooner  had  I  drawn  some 
elaborate  lamp,  and  was  trying  to  get  it  into  tone 
with  its  surroundings,  than  a  tourist  must  have 
that  particular  one  down  for  his  inspection.  I 
might  be  feeling  rather  pleased  that  a  patch  of 
sunlight  was  beginning  to  get  its  tonic  value  in  my 
picture  when  down  would  come  some  awning,  and 
that  part  of  my  subject  would  be  blotted  out.  The 
noise  of  this  awning  descending  would  remind  other 
shopmen  that  it  was  time  for  theirs  to  come  down 
too,  with  the  result  that  there  would  be  very  little 
of  my  subject  left,  and  that  little  so  altered  in  tone 
that  no  more  painting  was  to  be  done  that  morning. 

On  my  way  home  I  asked  the  faithful  one  how 
he  worked  it  with  the  shopman.  "  Well,  I  first  told 
him  that  you  were  a  nephew  of  Lord  Cromer,  and 
then  hinted  that  it  is  just  as  well  to  make  friends 
with  those  in  power  ;  besides  this,  I  represented  to 
him  what  an  advertisement  it  will  be  for  his  shop 
when  all  the  great  people  in  Cairo  see  the  picture." 
I  retorted  that  I  was  not  particularly  fond  of  sailing 
under  false  colours.  "  Then,  Sir,  when  you  have 
finished  I  will  tell  him  it  was  all  lies,"  he  com- 
placently replied.  The  extraordinary  thing  is  that  in 
a  place  where  lying  is  carried  to  such  a  fine  art  any- 
one could  be  found  to  believe  these  statements. 

A  good  supply  of  cigarettes  the  next  day  aided 
me  in  further  ingratiating  myself  with  the  vendor 

31 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

of  lamps,  and  his  numerous  friends  and  relatives 
who  came  to  his  shop  to  have  a  peep  at  my  work. 
The  smoke  also  helped  to  keep  the  flies  off. 
Each  fresh  acquaintance  would  try  to  assist  me, 
either  by  cuffing  a  small  boy  who  might  try  to  get 
through  the  barrier  of  lamp-stands  and  chairs 
that  Mohammed  set  up  between  me  and  the  out- 
side world,  or  by  exhorting  a  neighbour  not  to 
move  some  of  his  goods  till  the  "  Hawaga  "  had 
finished  painting  them.  I  could  have  dispensed 
with  much  of  this  assistance  ;  for  if  I  attempted  to 
blot  in  the  colour  of  a  man's  robes,  or  draw  the 
pose  of  another,  these  would-be  assistants  yelled  out 
to  my  unconscious  model  to  keep  still.  "  He 
maketh  thine  ugly  face  to  shine  like  a  new  brass 
bowl  ! "  "  Thou  wilt  be  the  admired  of  all  the 
Nazarene  ladies  who  behold  his  picture  !  "  and  such 
witticisms  ;  which  would  generally  cause  my  sitter 
to  slip  away,  or,  worse  still,  bring  him  round  to  see 
what  I  had  made  of  him.  The  fame  of  my  relation- 
ship to  the  great  Proconsul  had  got  winded  about,  for 
I  was  invited,  right  and  left,  to  make  use  of  the  dif- 
ferent shops  as  a  temporary  studio  ;  and  when  once 
it  was  recognised  that  I  came  here  to  work  and  not  to 
buy,  touts  ceased  to  pester  me,  and  the  Khan  el  Khalil 
became  one  of  my  favourite  sketching  grounds. 

Let  us  now  resume  our  itinerary.     A  lane  with 
one  or  two  turnings  takes  us  out  of  the  Turkish 

32 


A  COURT   NEAR  EL-AZHAR 


IN   THE   BAZAARS 

bazaar  and  into  the  "  Muski,"  the  Regent  Street  of 
"  Masr  el  Kahira,"  which  is  the  main  thoroughfare, 
crossing  the  old  town  from  East  to  West  and 
connecting  it  with  the  new.  European  influence 
has  crept  up  this  street  and  it  has  become  pro- 
portionately more  common-place  in  appearance. 
We  ascend  it  some  couple  of  hundred  yards  and 
take  the  street  to  the  right,  where  we  are  out  of 
the  draught  of  ugliness  that  blows  up  from  the 
new  town.  The  comparative  quiet  here  is  a  relief, 
and  is  becoming  to  the  precincts  of  the  university 
which  we  are  nearing.  Appropriately  enough, 
this  is  the  street  of  the  booksellers — "  El  Sharia  el 
Halwagi "  to  give  it  its  proper  name.  Copies  of 
the  Koran,  old  commentaries  and  text-books  are 
ranged  on  the  stalls,  and  the  "  Kutbi,"  or  book- 
seller, is  often  a  learned  Sheykh  himself  who 
behaves  with  the  dignity  of  his  calling  and  does 
not  try  and  foist  his  wares  on  you.  We  feel  that 
we  are  indeed  approaching  Islam's  great  centre  of 
learning. 


33 


CHAPTER    IV 

IN  THE  STREETS  OF  CAIRO 

THE  northern  entrance  of  the  Gamia  el  Azhar  is 
soon  visible.  This  is  a  little  disappointing  to  the 
sketcher,  who,  having  learnt  that  this  University- 
Mosque  was  founded  in  the  tenth  century,  is 
surprised  to  find  such  a  new-looking  building. 
Repeated  additions  and  restorations  make  it  hard 
to  discover  any  traces  of  the  original  edifice  which 
Gohar,  the  great  vizier  of  the  first  Fatimid  caliph, 
erected.  One  may  regret  a  loss  of  picturesqueness 
due  to  the  hand  of  the  restorer  in  this  and  many 
other  mosques,  but  had  this  work  not  been  done, 
many  a  fine  building  would  ere  this  have  ceased  to 
exist,  or  have  remained  but  a  shapeless  mass  of 
ruins.  The  increased  value  of  the  mosque  endow- 
ments now  permits  of  this  work  being  carried  on, 
and,  happily,  it  is  in  the  hands  of  so  able  an 
architect  as  Herz  Bey,  who  has  devoted  a  lifetime 
to  the  study  of  Saracenic  architecture.  Would 
that  a  man  of  equal  knowledge  had  been  found  to 

34 


AFTER  THE   MIDDAY  PRAYER 


IN   THE   STREETS    OF   CAIRO 

direct  the  restoration  made  in  the  time  of  Said 
Pasha!  It  is  certainly  now  like  a  new  patch  in 
an  old  garment,  for  most  of  the  houses  that  surround 
it,  and  all  in  that  quarter,  have  a  hoary  look  of 
antiquity,  though  none  of  these  existed  when  the 
Azhar  was  first  built. 

To  enter  any  moslem  place  of  worship  it  is  now 
necessary  to  procure  tickets,  which  your  guide  or 
the  hotel  porter  can  obtain  for  you.  The  two 
piastres  you  pay  for  these  correspond  very  much  to 
the  sixpence  often  necessary  before  being  guided 
round  an  English  cathedral.  Time  will  not  allow 
us  to  visit  the  interior  this  morning.  Six  minarets 
rise  from  this  mosque,  with  apparently  as  little 
regard  to  plan  as  six  flowering  stems  might  rise 
from  a  clustre  of  lily  bulbs,  and  two  domes  cover 
the  resting  place  of  the  saintly  founder.  Un- 
fortunately the  buildings  surrounding  the  university 
will  not  permit  one  to  get  far  enough  off  to  see 
more  than  one  or  two  of  these  minarets  at  the 
same  time.  They  are  all  varied  in  shape,  and 
suggest  different  periods  of  construction.  A  late 
fifteenth  century  one  is  of  especial  beauty  ;  the 
graduated  transition  from  the  square  to  the  octagon 
and  from  the  octagon  to  the  circle  ;  the  clever 
concealment  of  the  angles,  with  the  stalactite 
pendentives  which  form  the  brackets  supporting 
the  galleries,  deserve  careful  study.  As  each  tier, 

35  D  2 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

defined  by  these  galleries,  rises  from  the  mosque, 
the  girth  of  the  minaret  becomes  more  slender, 
and  the  ornamentation  is  cleverly  adapted  to  the 
increased  height,  the  whole  tending  to  lead 
the  eye  up  to  the  egg-shaped  finial  that  supports 
the  emblem  of  their  faith.  The  art  of  the  builder 
has  here  reached  its  climax  :  its  more  pretentious 
neighbour  of  a  later  date  looks  awkward  and  top- 
heavy  in  comparison  ;  it  casts  less  beautiful  shadows, 
and  is  inferior  in  the  arrangement  of  the  colour. 
The  two  domes  built  at  greater  intervals  show  this 
deterioration  in  an  even  more  marked  degree. 
The  earlier  one  is,  moreover,  a  true  dome,  and 
forms  a  dignified  canopy  for  the  tomb  it  covers, 
while  the  latter  is  only  worthy  to  ornament  a 
newspaper  kiosk. 

At  a  corner  opposite  the  north  side  of  the  Azhar 
a  double  flight  of  stairs  leads  to  a  portal  with  very 
pretty  stalactite  vaulting.  This  is  the  entrance  to  a 
"  medresseh,"  or  college,  which  is  often  hard  to  dis- 
tinguish from  the  congregational  mosque.  What 
is  very  surprising  is  to  learn  that  it  only  dates  back 
as  far  as  1774.  The  decadence  in  architectural 
style  had  set  in  long  before  that  date,  and  yet  there 
seems  but  little  sign  of  this  decadence  here.  Stanley 
Lane  Poole  tells  us  that  it  was  built  on  the  plan  of 
an  earlier  mosque  at  Boulak,  it  is  therefore  probable 
that  while  copying  the  plan  they  copied  the  detail 

36 


A  LANE  NEAR  THE  GATE  OF  ZUWEYLA 


IN   THE   STREETS    OF   CAIRO 

also.  This,  with  the  surrounding  stalls  below,  and 
a  peep  of  the  dome  rising  above  the  arabesque 
balustrade,  silhouetted  against  the  deep  blue  sky, 
forms  a  subject  that  few  painters  would  pass  with- 
out looking  round  for  a  suitable  spot  to  set  up 
an  easel.  Were  I  writing  a  guide  book  for  artists, 
I  would  mark  this  with  two  stars. 

Sharp  round  the  corner  a  zig-zag  lane  soon 
takes  you  into  "  El  Ashrafiyeh,"  the  main  street 
which  is  a  continuation  of  El  Nahassin,  and  you 
have  returned  to  the  full  noise  and  bustle  of  the 
busy  part  of  Cairo.  Here  are  more  huge  mosques, 
touching  and  facing  each  other,  domes  and  minarets 
breaking  the  perspective  of  the  street,  and  forming  an 
ever-varying  skyline  as  you  pass  along.  Once  more 
the  shouts  from  the  camel-drivers,  donkey-boys,  and 
hawkers  greet  your  ears.  A  blue-shirted  cabman 
is  trying  to  drive  his  load  of  tourists  through  this 
motley  crowd.  The  dragoman  sitting  next  to  him 
on  the  box  assists  him  in  exhorting  the  foot- 
passengers  to  make  way.  "  Oah  ja  gedda  !  "  "Oah 
ishmaelak  !  "  "  Oah  riglak  !  "  "  Iftah  eynak  ja 
am  !  "  ("  Look  out,  oh  workman,"  "  Look  out  to 
your  left,"  "  Take  care  of  your  feet,"  "  Open  thine 
eye,  oh  uncle  !  ")  they  alternately  cry  out.  The 
tourists  look  worn-out  and  dazed  ;  so  much  has 
been  crowded  into  one  morning.  One  youth  has  just 
sufficient  energy  left  to  take  a  few  flying  shots  with 

37 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

his  Kodak  ;  but  whether  he  records  the  camel,  or 
only  a  passing  sunshade,  does  not  seem  to  disturb 
him  very  much.  Facing  you,  on  one  side  of 
the  stairs  of  the  mosque  of  Ghuri,  and  almost 
hidden  by  the  awnings  of  the  adjoining  booth,  there 
is  a  little  passage  which  leads  into  the  scent  bazaar. 
Here  you  are  offered,  for  four  or  five  shillings,  a 
little  phial  of  attar  of  roses  containing  four  or  five 
drops.  This  covered  passage,  with  the  usual  cup- 
board-like shops  and  "mastaba,"  leads  into  a  maze  of 
narrow  lanes,  in  each  of  which  one  particular  trade 
is  plied,  or  one  class  of  goods  sold.  The  spice 
bazaar  is  particularly  interesting,  and  often  more 
beautiful  in  colour  than  any  other  ;  cinnamon, 
cloves,  nutmegs  and  aloes  heaped  around  the 
merchant  harmonise  deliciously  with  his  silk 
robes,  and  the  bags,  baskets  and  matting  that 
comprise  the  furniture  of  his  shop.  You  can 
wander  next  through  the  Tunis  and  Algerian 
bazaars,  others  given  up  to  shoemakers  and  to 
dealers  in  woollen  goods  from  Arabia,  and  so  work 
your  way  once  more  into  the  main  street  not  far 
from  the  great  mosque  of  El  Muaiyad. 

This  imposing  building  was  erected  by  the  Cir- 
cassian Mameluke  Sultan,  El  Muaiyad,  in  1416,  to 
serve  as  a  "  medresseh  "  or  college,  many  of  which 
existed  at  that  period  :  but  as  the  students  gradually 
flocked  to  the  "  azhar,"  these  "  medressa "  were 

38 


IN   THE   STREETS    OF   CAIRO 

converted  into  congregational  mosques.  This  one 
is  also  the  mausoleum  of  its  founder  and  his  family. 
A  great  builder  was  "  El  Muaiyad,"  for,  in  spite  of 
the  troublous  times  in  which  he  lived,  six  mosques, 
two  colleges  and  a  hospital — the  "  Maristan  El 
Muaiyad  " — are  recorded  as  dating  from  his  reign  of 
ten  years.  Saracenic  architecture  had  reached  its 
highest  point  a  century  earlier.  The  magnificent 
bronze  doors  were  originally  those  of  the  Sultan 
Hasan  Mosque,  to  which  we  shall  refer  later  on. 

The  chief  interest,  however,  of  this  part  of  Cairo 
is  not  this  mosque,  but  the  old  town  gate  which 
adjoins  it,  and  which  crosses  the  street  we  are  now 
in.  The  Bab  ez-Zuweleh  took  its  name  from  a  tribe  of 
Berber  auxiliaries  who  were  quartered  just  outside. 
It  is  one  of  the  three  great  gates  in  the  wall  that 
separated  Kahira  from  the  sites  of  the  more  ancient 
Fostat  and  Katai,  and  was  built  by  the  Armenian 
vizier  Bedr  during  the  caliphate  of  El  Mustansir 
in  1070.  From  that  time  until  the  Othmanly 
conquest  of  Egypt  in  15 17  it  was  associated  with 
nearly  every  dramatic  event  that  happened  in  Cairo. 
The  massive  square  bastions,  the  round  arch  of  the 
gate,  and  the  vaulting  of  the  passage  are  more 
Byzantine  than  Saracenic  in  character.  Its  towers 
were  shortened  to  receive  the  twin  minarets  that 
El  Muaiyad  erected  when  he  built  his  mosque,  but 
otherwise  it  is  little  altered.  Stanley  Lane  Poole, 

39 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

in  his  fascinating  "  Story  of  Cairo,"  tells  us  of  many 
a  tragic  scene  that  this  grim  gate  has  witnessed.  He 
relates  how,  in  1154,  Nasr,  the  murderer  of  the 
"Fauceant"  caliph  El-Zahir,  was  delivered  up  by  the 
Templars  of  Palestine,  for  a  blood  money  of 
£30,000,  to  the  women  of  the  palace,  who  tortured 
him  and  sent  him  through  the  streets  of  Cairo, 
maimed  and  blinded,  to  be  crucified  alive  at  the 
Bab  ez-Zuweleh.  Ten  years  later,  the  vizier 
Dargham  was  ignominiously  slain  here.  He  was  a 
brave  paladin  who  fought  the  Crusaders  at  Gaza, 
but  lost  his  cause  by  laying  impious  hands  on  the 
mosque  endowments  to  pay  his  troops.  Deserted 
by  his  followers,  whose  idol  he  had  lately  been,  he 
was  pursued  by  an  infuriated  mob  through  this 
gateway,  his  head  was  hacked  off,  and  his  body 
thrown  into  the  ditch  to  be  worried  by  the  pariah 
dogs.  When  the  orthodox  and  famous  Saladin 
succeeded  the  last  of  the  puppet  caliphs,  he  rigor- 
ously put  down  a  rising  of  the  black  troops  who  still 
adhered  to  the  Shia  heresy  ;  and  a  terrible  slaughter, 
which  lasted  two  days,  took  place  outside  the 
Zuweleh  Gate.  When  the  Mongol  envoys  came  to 
Cairo  with  insulting  demands  of  submission,  the 
Mameluke  Kutuz  cut  off  their  heads  and  exposed 
them  to  the  populace  here.  Passing  through  the 
passage,  you  face  a  house  at  the  corner  of  the  street 
which  is  more  or  less  the  continuation  of  the  one 

40 


THE  SEBtL  NEAR  THE  GATE  OF  ZUWEYLA 


IN   THE   STREETS    OF    CAIRO 

you  have  left.  Its  distinguishing  feature  is  a  large 
iron  grating  and  the  column  which  is  built  into  the 
corner.  This  column,  which  appears  to  have  been 
put  there  as  an  ornamental  chamfer,  was  for  years 
the  place  of  execution  ;  malefactors  being  strangled 
against  the  shaft.  Small  wonder  that  this  gate  is 
looked  upon  by  Cairenes  as  a  haunted  spot !  With 
them  it  goes  more  often  by  the  name  of  Bab  el- 
Mitwelli.  On  the  door  on  your  left  as  you  pass 
out  you  will  notice  coloured  bits  of  rags  covering  a 
large  part  of  it,  you  may  also  see  teeth  hanging  by 
a  string  from  nails,  as  well  as  other  unpleasing 
objects. 

Should  you  be  sketching  here  long,  you  will  see 
people  pry  mysteriously  behind  this  door,  and  then 
proceed  to  drive  a  nail  into  it.  I  was  a  good  deal 
exercised  in  my  mind  when  first  I  worked  there, 
till  the  faithful  Mohammed  enlightened  me  to  a 
certain  extent.  It  appeared  that  a  certain  "  Kutb 
el-Mitwelli,"  a  saint  of  exceeding  sanctity,  is 
believed  to  frequent  the  niche  behind  this  door  ; 
but  as  he  has  the  power  of  rendering  himself 
invisible,  it  is  hard  to  get  ocular  proof  of  his 
presence  ;  he  can  also,  I  was  told,  change  his  place 
in  an  instant  ;  therefore  when  you  think  you  have 
caught  him  in  his  niche,  he  may  have  transported 
himself  unseen  to  the  top  of  the  Kaaba  at  Mekka. 
He  possesses  great  curative  powers,  for  it  is  well 

41 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

proved  that  if  a  tooth  aches  very  much,  and  you 
pull  it  out  and  fasten  it  to  the  door,  it  will  very  soon 
cease  to  give  you  pain  !  Mothers  will  bring  sore- 
eyed  children  and  press  their  faces  against  the  wood- 
work ;  and  it  is  as  well  for  the  unbeliever  not  to 
attempt  a  similar  cure,  for  he  might  get  a  worse 
disease  than  the  one  he  was  seeking  to  relieve.  A 
queer-looking  saint  occasionally  squats  in  front  of 
this  door,  who  is  an  object  of  great  veneration.  No 
mediaeval  artist  has  ever  clad  a  Lazarus  in  such  a 
patchwork  of  rags.  His  wild  look,  and  the  spear 
he  clutches,  prevents  even  the  "  Giour  "  from  treat- 
ing him  with  disrespect.  What  the  connection  of 
this  saint  and  the  mysterious  "  el-Mitwelli  "  is  I 
have  never  been  able  to  fathom,  but  I  shall  try 
again  when  next  I  set  up  my  easel  within  reach  of 
his  spear. 

The  accompanying  illustration  is  from  a  drawing 
I  made  of  the  twin  minarets  of  El  Muaiyad,  which 
rise  so  gracefully  from  the  blood-stained  Bab  ez- 
Zuweleh.  The  intervening  houses  hide  the  gate- 
way that  has  taxed  the  powers  of  many  brother 
brushes  to  get  an  adequate  presentment  of.  The 
space  around  it  is  too  confined  to  get  it  within  the 
focus  of  a  picture  ;  and  perhaps  it  is  just  as  well 
that  the  shambles  from  which  these  lovely  minarets 
spring  should  be  hidden,  even  as  the  garden  soil  hides 
the  filth  lying  at  the  roots  of  two  beautiful  lilies. 

42 


THE  TWIN  MINARETS  OF  EL-MUAYYAD 


IN   THE   STREETS    OF   CAIRO 

These  towers  are  much  the  same  in  character  as- 
the  one  we  particularly  noticed  on  the  Azhar. 
The  Circassian  Sultans  of  the  fifteenth  century 
delighted  in  this  elaborate  ornamentation  ;  and 
their  work  has  not  the  simplicity  nor  the  grandeur 
of  that  of  the  fourteenth  century,  as  we  shall  see 
when  we  compare  it  with  the  earlier  work  of  the 
Sultan  Hasan.  In  most  cases  the  narrowness  of 
the  streets  prevents  one  from  seeing  the  mosques 
as  a  whole,  but  the  simpler  character  of  the  houses 
which  partially  hide  them  suggest  in  a  picture 
those  broad  spaces  that  the  fourteenth  century 
architects  understood  so  well  the  value  of. 

It  is  curious  that  El  Mahmudi  Muaiyad  should 
have  chosen  the  flanking  towers  of  the  Zuweleh  as 
a  base  for  the  minarets  which  belong  to  his  adjoining 
mosque  and  mortuary.  For  some  time  he  lay,  a 
prisoner  of  his  unruly  subjects,  in  this  very  gate. 
He  was  a  pious  Moslem  of  the  now  orthodox  faith 
that  Saladin,  before  him,  had  purged  of  the  Shia 
heresy  ;  and  we  are  also  told  that  he  was  a  man  of 
learning,  a  poet,  orator,  and  musician  ;  very  simple 
in  his  mode  of  living  and  in  his  dress  ;  robing 
himself  in  common  white  wool  as  a  sign  of 
mourning  for  the  pestilence  that  ravaged  his  land. 
He  was  intolerant,  nevertheless,  of  those  of  another 
faith,  and  the  fine  monuments  he  erected  were 
principally  paid  for  from  the  exactions  he  levied 

43 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

on  the  Christians  and  the  Jews.  He  enforced  the 
sumptuary  laws,  which  for  a  long  time  had  been  in 
abeyance  ;  the  Copts  being  obliged  to  wear  blue 
cloaks  and  black  turbans,  while  the  cloak  of  the 
Jew  had  to  be  yellow  and  his  turban  black  as  that 
of  the  Christian.  To  distinguish  them  still  more 
from  the  true  believer,  a  heavy  cross  had  to  hang 
from  the  neck  of  one,  and  a  black  ball  from  that 
of  the  other.  Though  it  is  long  since  these  laws 
have  been  enforced,  I  cannot  recall  ever  having 
seen  either  a  Christian  or  Jew  in  a  white 
turban,  which  is  the  one  most  commonly  worn  by 
the  Moslem. 

We  now  follow  the  "  Derb  el  Ahmar,"  the 
street  on  the  left  as  you  emerge  from  the  gate,  and 
take  one  more  look  at  El  Muaiyad's  minarets, 
which  are  here  seen  dominating  a  group  of 
mouldering  old  houses,  whose  creamy  colour  they 
carry  up  into  the  blue. 

Here  I  have  often  seen  an  old  man  bending 
under  the  weight  of  a  large  pitcher  of  water  slung 
across  his  back  ;  the  mouth  of  this  vessel  is  closed 
with  a  rag  stopper,  but  a  metal  spout  rising  from 
its  shoulder  projects  above  that  of  the  man,  who, 
by  bending  a  little  more,  allows  the  water  to  trickle 
into  a  cup  he  holds  in  his  hand.  A  passer  by  will 
often  drain  this  cup  and  only  reward  him  with  a 
blessing,  and  this  seems  to  satisfy  the  old  man,  for 

44 


IN   THE   STREETS    OF   CAIRO 

again  he  will  bend  forward  to  refill  it  repeating  the 
doleful  song  that  first  made  me  notice  him.  My 
guide  also  slackening  his  thirst,  and  not  parting 
with  a  "  fadda  "  in  return,  caused  me  to  chaff  him 
about  getting  a  drink  on  the  cheap,  and  I  got  him 
to  repeat  to  me  the  burthen  of  the  old  man's  song. 
It  was  as  nearly  as  possible  the  opening  verse  of 
Isaiah  lv.,  for  it  might  be  translated  as  follows  : 
"  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  this 
water,  and  he  that  hath  no  money,  come  ye  and 
drink,  without  money  and  without  price  !  "  This 
custom  probably  dates  back  to  days  long  before 
Mohammed,  and  possibly  to  the  days  of  Isaiah 
himself.  Now  stand-pipes  have  been  erected  in 
most  parts  of  the  city,  and  a  good  supply  of  water 
laid  on,  this  pretty  custom  may  fall  into  disuse  : 
but  let  us  hope  that  the  charitable  people  who  sup- 
ported these  old  water  carriers  may  find  some  fresh 
outlet  for  their  benefactions  ! 

You  pass  the  little  mosque  of  Ishmas-el-Ishaki 
at  the  fork  of  two  streets,  and  a  charming  sebil  on 
your  right  with  some  pretty  tiles  and  a  richly- 
coloured  ceiling  ;  another  mosque  on  your  left,  and 
you  come  to  the  beautiful  one  of  El-Merdani. 
This  mosque  was  in  a  deplorable  state  of  ruin 
when  I  first  saw  it,  and  though  most  artists  fight 
shy  of  newly-restored  buildings,  I  rejoice  that 
the  commission  for  the  preservation  of  Arab 

45 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

monuments  have  taken  it  in  hand.  The  re- 
storations have  been  carried  out  by  Herz  Bey  ; 
and  the  work  has  been  so  satisfactorily  done  that 
one  is  able  here  fully  to  appreciate  the  state  of 
perfection  Sarcenic  art  had  reached  during  the  first 
half  of  the  fourteenth  century.  A  good  deal  of 
the  original  wood  carving  has  found  its  way  into 
museums — South  Kensington,  amongst  others,  has 
some  good  examples. 

A  narrow  little  street  which  passes  one  side  of 
the  Merdani  leads  into  a  larger  street  of  that 
name.  Houses  suggesting  a  decaying  aristocracy 
are  to  the  right  and  left  of  you.  One  with  a 
handsome  doorway  and  a  few  bay  windows,  and  with 
the  meshrebiya  broken  or  patched  with  bits  of 
packing-cases,  premises  that  the  owner  has  either 
fallen  on  bad  times,  or  on  times  sufficiently  good 
to  enable  him  to  build  a  new  house  in  the 
Ismailiyeh  quarter,  leaving  the  rats  and  some 
pensioned-off  old  eunuch  in  quiet  possession  of 
this  one.  I  have  often  found  interesting  court- 
yards in  similar  houses,  but  it  is  difficult  to  get  a 
sight  of  them.  The  massive  door  is  often  open, 
but  the  passage  leading  to  the  interior  court  after  a 
few  yards  generally  takes  a  sharp  turn,  which 
effectually  shuts  out  the  view  from  the  outside 
world. 

My  faithful  guide  was  at  his  best  here.     I  had  but 


THE  GUARDIAN  OF  THE  HAREEM 


IN   THE   STREETS    OF   CAIRO 

to  look  wistfully  at  one  of  these  mysterious  portals 
and,  like  the  Kodak  people,  he  "  would  do  the 
rest."  Should  the  house  be  in  a  deserted  "  cul  de 
sac,"  and  should  there  be  no  one  from  whom  he 
could  get  any  information  as  to  the  occupants,  he 
would  boldly  dive  in.  If  he  returned  quickly  the 
chances  were  that  there  was  nothing  interesting  to 
see  or  to  paint,  for  he  had  a  good  idea  of  what  I 
was  in  search  of ;  but  sometimes  he  would  find  the 
place  quite  deserted,  or  the  caretaker  fast  asleep, 
when  he  would  steal  out  and  beckon  to  me  to  step 
in  and  have  a  peep.  Should  there  be  anything  as 
good  as  in  the  accompanying  illustration,  I  would 
leave  it  to  him  to  arrange  matters  as  well  as  he 
could.  Sometimes  the  matter  could  be  settled  at 
once,  the  prospect  of  a  shilling  or  two  thoroughly 
awakening  the  custodian  ;  at  other  times,  as  in  this 
instance,  it  would  be  necessary  to  find  the  owner, 
and  it  might  be  a  day  or  two  before  I  could  start  a 
drawing.  If  the  house  was  an  important  one,  the 
harem  was  often  the  difficulty,  especially  if  the 
entrance  to  the  ladies'  department  chanced  to  be  the 
doorway  which  I  desired  to  paint.  In  this  par- 
ticular case  I  was  good-naturedly  told  by  the  owner 
that,  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  none  of  his  women- 
folk would  want  to  stir  out,  so  that  I  was  welcome 
to  paint  until  the  ladies  were  ready  to  "  smell  the 
air,"  as  he  expressed  it.  My  painting  his  eunuch  fast 

47 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

asleep  at  the  doorway  of  his  harem  seemed  to 
amuse  the  proprietor  vastly  ;  especially  when  the 
eunuch  complained  that  he  was  in  too  hot  a 
corner,  and  I  had  to  get  Mohammed  to  hold  a 
parasol,  in  order  that  the  sun's  rays  might  not 
injure  the  blackie's  complexion. 

The  ladies  had  evidently  been  watching  these 
proceedings  through  the  meshrebiya  ;  for  when 
the  eunuch  had  been  roasted  long  enough  to  allow 
me  to  complete  his  picture,  some  whispering  and 
giggling  ended  in  his  asking  to  be  allowed  to  take 
my  drawing  inside,  to  show  it  to  the  "  Sittat." 
My  picture — which  is  not  meant  to  be  a  humorous 
one — seemed  to  strike  the  "  Sittat  "  as  such,  for 
peals  of  laughter  now  proceeded  from  the  other 
side  of  the  curtain.  The  eunuch  presently  returned 
with  my  drawing,  looking  very  crestfallen,  and  he 
wept  as  he  enlarged  on  all  the  indignities  I  had 
subjected  him  to  :  but  a  little  more  "  baksheesh," 
and,  as  someone  remarks  in  the  Pilgrim's  Progress, 
"  I  saw  him  no  more." 

This  street  of  El-Merdani  is  a  short  one  and 
soon  ends  in  the  "Suk  el-Sellaha," — the  armourers' 
market.  The  stillness  of  the  former  street  is  en- 
livened here  by  the  tap,  tap,  of  the  gunmakers  and 
the  sound  of  the  bellows.  Wild-looking  Bedouin 
or  Syrian  Arabs  are  having  the  flint  locks  of  their 
long  guns  repaired  ;  old  blunderbusses,  spears,  and 


IN   THE   STREETS    OF   CAIRO 

a  few  modern  fowling-pieces  hang  about  the  shops, 
and  nondescript  bits  of  iron  and  brass  strew  the 
floors  ;  but  it  is  a  poor  show  these  gunsmiths  make 
now,  compared  with  bygone  days,  when  this  Suk 
was  the  arms  factory  of  the  sultans.  The  lower 
story  is  often  all  that  is  left  of  some  former 
armourer's  abode.  A  partially  ruined  mosque, 
with  a  pretty  fluted  pattern  on  the  dome,  and  a 
minaret  which  is  a  peril  to  the  "  muezzin  "  every 
time  he  ascends  it  to  call  these  smiths  to  prayer, 
complete  this  picture  of  dilapidation. 

The  top  of  the  Suk  joins  the  avenue  Mohammed 
AH,  and  sight-seeing  is  over  for  this  morning.  A 
tramway  coming  down  from  the  citadel  is  the 
quickest  way  of  getting  over  the  mile  of  unin- 
teresting road  that  leads  to  the  European  quarter 
of  Cairo. 


49 


CHAPTER   V 

OLD  CAIRO 

SHOULD  the  reader  care  to  follow  me  once  more 
through  some  of  the  old  quarters  of  the  town,  we 
can  again  take  this  tramway  at  the  Ezbekiyeh 
Gardens,  and  alight  about  half-way  up  the  Sharia 
Mohammed  Ali,  near  the  "  Bab  el-Khalk."  This 
wide  avenue  was  ruthlessly  run  through  the  old 
city  by  Egypt's  first  Khedive,  after  whom  it  is 
named.  Many  interesting  buildings  were  swept 
away  to  make  this  roadway  up  to  the  citadel. 
Howls  of  indignation  arose  from  all  pious  Moslems 
in  Egypt  when  they  heard  that  the  sacred  shrines, 
mosques,  and  other  structures  connected  with  their 
faith  were  being  ruthlessly  torn  down  ;  but  Ali  was 
all  powerful,  and  not  the  man  to  allow  the  religious 
scruples  of  his  people  to  stand  in  his  way,  as  he 
had  shown  them  upon  a  former  occasion,  when  he 
seized  on  the  Wakfs,  or  religious  endowments,  and 
diverted  them  to  secular  uses.  He  doubtless  did 
much  for  his  newly  acquired  country,  but  it  is  ever 

5° 


EL-GAM  A  MESE,  CAIRO 


OLD    CAIRO 

to  be  regretted  that  he  was  such  a  Philistine  in 
matters  of  taste. 

The  large  new  building  on  your  left,  en  style 
Arabe^  is  the  museum  of  Arabian  art.  A  good 
number  of  its  contents  are  spoils  from  the  wreck 
that  Mohammed  Ali  made  of  many  parts  of  the  city; 
and  many  a  fine  piece  of  mosque  furniture  is  also 
there  which  one  would  gladly  see  restored  to  the 
original  buildings,  that  are  still  extant,  and  from 
which  they  have  been  taken.  It  is  a  fine  collection, 
and  anyone  interested  in  Arab  wood  and  metal 
work  can  study  it  here  to  his  heart's  content. 

We  can  here  hire  donkeys,  if  the  weather  is  too 
hot  for  a  long  walk,  and  go  along  the  Derb 
el-Gamamiz,  a  long  street  of  which  the  houses  on 
the  west  side  back  upon  the  now  filled-in  canal, 
El-Khalig  ;  it  is  a  main  thoroughfare  that,  under 
various  names,  crosses  the  city  from  north  to  south, 
keeping  parallel  with  the  canal  the  whole  way.  It 
is  quieter  than  the  main  streets  near  the  Khan  el 
Khalil,  as  it  is  some  distance  from  the  chief 
bazaars.  In  the  early  morning  you  may  here  meet 
camels  laden  with  foodstuffs,  and  cattle  and  sheep 
driven  in  from  the  country  on  their  way  to  the 
various  markets.  It  is  a  pretty  sight  to  see  these 
camels  in  the  summer,  with  their  loads  of  gourds 
and  melons  in  coarse,  open  network  panniers, 
suspended  from  their  backs.  The  driver  some- 

51  E  2 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

times  retails  these  as  he  goes  along,  carrying  a  cut 
water-melon  in  his  hand.  He  stops  at  every  fruit- 
stall  on  the  chance  of  doing  a  more  wholesale  deal; 
and  this  is  a  long  process,  often  keeping  the  camel 
standing  long  enough  to  allow  of  a  careful  drawing 
being  made.  These  fruit-stalls,  which  are  rigged  up 
in  any  odd  corner,  or  the  more  permanent  shops, 
filled  with  apples,  oranges,  and  lemons,  and  backed 
by  piles  of  melons,  make  a  delightful  patch  of 
colour  in  most  of  the  streets.  The  salesman  from 
an  inherited  instinct  seems  to  feel  the  right  colour 
for  the  paper  and  tinsel  with  which  he  surrounds 
his  goods,  and,  as  the  season  advances,  tall  bundles 
of  sugar-cane  lean  against  the  wall,  or  fill  any 
awkward  angle,  with  their  long,  greyish-green 
leaves. 

When  it  is  one's  fate  to  remain  in  Cairo  during 
the  heat  of  the  summer,  or  early  autumn,  one  is  to 
a  certain  extent  compensated  by  the  increased 
beauty  of  the  streets.  The  shapes  and  shadows  of 
the  awnings  which  are  slung  across  the  roads,  or 
propped  up  with  poles  over  the  shops  and  stalls, 
add  enormously  to  the  picturesqueness.  These 
large  canvases  and  bits  of  matting  admit  sufficient 
light  through  them  to  impart  a  warm  glow  with- 
out casting  too  black  a  shadow.  The  people,  also, 
are  much  more  picturesque  in  their  summer  gar- 
ments ;  for  the  ugly  bits  of  European  clothing  often 

52 


OLD    CAIRO 

worn  over  their  "  gelabieh,"  are  only  seen  during 
the  comparatively  cold  weather.  Nor  are  the 
tourists,  there,  whose  dress  harmonises  so  badly 
with  eastern  surroundings.  Children  play  about 
half-naked,  and  their  elders  move  in  a  manner 
more  becoming  to  the  dignity  of  an  oriental. 
So  much  more  goes  on  in  the  streets  here  than 
in  more  northern  countries  ;  the  goods  for  sale 
are  displayed  on  the  pavement,  and  shops,  as 
Europeans  know  them,  are  not  seen. 

A  little  way  down  the  Derb  el-Gamamiz,  through 
a  large  doorway,  up  some  steps,  you  get  a  peep 
into  a  Dervish  monastery.  The  large  paved  court- 
yard, beautified  by  trees  and  a  pretty  tiled  fountain, 
looks  inviting  from  a  hot  and  dusty  street.  Some 
sycamore  trees  are  also  in  the  roadway  near  here, 
justifying  the  name  "  gamamiz,"  opposite  these  is 
the  gate  of  the  Viceregal  Library.  To  students  of 
oriental  languages  this  library  is  all  important,  and 
to  those  more  interested  in  the  art  of  the  country 
than  in  its  literature  it  is  well  worth  a  visit,  were 
it  but  to  see  the  illuminated  copies  of  the  Koran 
which  it  contains.  Every  facility  is  here  given  to 
European  students,  and  this  is  not  always  the 
case  in  a  Moslem  library,  which  is  usually  almost 
entirely  devoted  to  works  connected  with  the 
religion  of  Mahommed. 

The  Ministry   of    Education    is  next  door.      Of 

53 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

all  the  tasks  entailed  by  the  British  occupation 
of  Egypt,  there  is  none  more  difficult,  nor  one 
requiring  more  tact  and  discretion,  than  that 
of  directing  the  course  of  study  to  be  pursued  by 
the  young  Moslem.  As  in  the  Azhar  university  at 
present,  so  in  past  days  the  teaching  in  all  schools 
consisted  almost  entirely  in  expounding  passages  of 
the  Koran.  Pages  of  this  book  did  the  scholars  have 
to  commit  to  memory  while  their  reasoning  facul- 
ties were  hardly  exercised  at  all.  Now,  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  men  teach  them  mathematics, 
history,  and  geography,  and  generally  prepare 
them  to  hold  their  own,  in  later  life,  under  the 
changed  conditions  of  their  country.  All  this  is 
excellent,  but  unfortunately  it  does  not  stop  there. 
An  idea  is  current  that  Europeanisation  must  go 
hand  in  hand  with  progress  ;  therefore,  instead  of 
developing  their  own  civilisation,  an  alien  one  is 
gradually  being  thrust  upon  them.  To  take  but 
one  instance, — no  pupil  is  allowed  to  attend  the 
Khedival  schools  in  the  becoming  dress  of  his  fore- 
fathers, but  must  wear  coat  and  trousers,  and  dress 
generally  like  the  "  Firangi,"  except  for  the  absurd 
red  tarbouch.  Now  what  moral  or  civilising 
effect  can  a  pair  of  trousers  have  ?  Once  accus- 
tomed to  these  ugly  garments  they  will  wear  them 
all  their  lives.  Their  beautiful  houses,  so  admir- 
ably planned  to  suit  a  hot  climate,  are  rapidly 

54 


A  KHEDIVIAL   SCHOOL 


I 

I  f 


OLD    CAIRO 

disappearing  ;  it  is  hard  that  their  picturesque  dress 
should  not  be  left  to  them. 

We  will  walk  a  little  further  down  this  street  till 
we  reach  a  pretty  "  sebil  "  on  our  left  ;  then,  turning 
sharply  round  this  fountain,  we  face  the  entrance 
to  one  of  these  Khedival  schools.  The  illustration 
is  from  a  drawing  I  did  some  ten  years  ago,  before 
these  sumptuary  laws  came  into  force.  The  young- 
sters as  they  hurry  out  of  the  school  now  make  a 
very  different  picture.  Suits,  cheaply  run  together 
in  some  sweater's  den  in  Europe,  have  replaced  the 
"  gelabieh  "  and  flowing  "  tob."  The  change  seems 
to  have  affected  their  manners  as  well  as  their 
appearance,  for  their  bearing  is  now  no  more 
dignified  than  their  clothes.  Their  former  robes 
were  easier  to  wash  than  tweed  suits  are  ;  thus 
from  a  sanitary  point  of  view  there  is  a  distinct  loss, 
and  I  have  heard  the  poorer  natives  complain  of 
the  extra  expense  that  this  new  outfit  entails. 
The  argument  that  they  are  not  compelled  to  send 
their  children  to  these  schools  is  not  worth 
answering. 

Let  us  now  skirt  round  this  building  and  take  a 
lane  in  a  southerly  direction.  High  walls  here 
enclose  the  gardens  of  some  pasha's  house.  We 
follow  these,  and  pass  one  or  two  mosques  of  more 
or  less  importance,  but  each  with  some  character 
peculiar  to  itself.  We  come  presently  to  the  house 

55 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

of  the  Sheykh  Sadaat,  but  some  fine  meshrebiya 
bay  windows  are  all  the  outside  world  can  see  of  the 
beauty  of  this  grand  old  house.  It  was  my  good 
fortune  to  have  been  introduced  to  the  late  Sheykh 
by  a  mutual  friend,  therefore  I  was  allowed  to 
paint  there  as  much  as  I  pleased.  No  house  more 
recalls  to  my  mind  the  pictures  of  Lewis.  An 
enormous  willow  grows  in  the  courtyard,  its  leaves 
brush  against  the  beautiful  lattice-work  of  the 
windows,  and  under  its  shade  a  fountain  plays. 
The  private  mosque  of  the  Sheykh  is  at  one 
corner  of  this  court  and  the  entrance  of  the  large 
reception-room  at  the  other,  while  in  a  room 
between  the  two  the  old  man  generally  re- 
ceived his  guests,  whom  he  would  invite  to  sit 
on  the  raised  cushioned  floor  upon  which  he 
reclined. 

When  I  first  visited  him,  the  sight  of  this  old 
man  in  his  yellow  silk  robes  and  enormous  turban, 
sitting  cross-legged  on  a  Persian  rug,  with  a  yellow 
silk  cushion  to  ease  his  back,  and  the  smoke  curl- 
ing from  his"  chibouk  "  making  the  little  touch  of 
cool  colour  in  a  harmony  of  pale  gold — the  whole 
seemed  to  suggest  a  very  clever  "  tableau  vivant " 
after  some  picture  of  Benjamin  Constant's.  At 
that  time  I  could  not  speak  or  understand  a  word 
of  Arabic,  and  it  was  moreover  my  first  introduc- 
tion to  an  oriental  grandee.  I  could  not  say  the 

56 


OLD    CAIRO 

wrong  thing,  as  my  friend,  Choucri  Tabet,  who 
introduced  me,  would  be  sure  to  interpret  any 
remarks  of  mine  in  the  way  most  pleasing  to  our 
host  ;  but  I  was  nervous  about  doing  the  wrong 
thing,  and  felt  rather  at  a  disadvantage  in  my 
very  ordinary  attire.  This  slight  awkwardness, 
however,  was  only  of  short  duration.  Coffee  and 
cigarettes  were  handed  round  by  a  blackamoor, 
almost  before  the  first  greetings  were  concluded, 
and  my  friend  and  host  were  soon  engaged  in  a 
lively  conversation.  Some  joke  would  make  the 
old  gentleman  hold  his  sides  with  laughter,  and 
then,  fearing  lest  I  might  feel  a  bit  out  of  it,  he 
would  insist  on  my  friend's  interpreting  it  to  me  ; 
and  when  he  was  sure  that  I  fully  appreciated  the 
point  he  would  laugh  again  till  the  tears  rolled 
down  his  cheeks.  His  appearance  and  his  beautiful 
surroundings  made  such  an  impression  on  me  as 
quite  to  obliterate  from  my  memory  what  the  sub- 
ject of  the  joke  was.  It  was  a  charming  place  to 
be  allowed  to  paint  and  I  hope  that,  should  oppor- 
tunity permit,  the  dear  old  Sheykh's  successors 
may  prove  equally  kind,  and  accord  me  the 
same  privilege. 

These  houses  have  been  slowly  evolved  by  the 
necessities  of  the  climate  and  the  social  and 
religious  laws  of  the  people.  To  make  life  bear- 
able during  the  many  months  of  hot  weather,  and 

57 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

to  preserve  the  privacy  of  the  weaker  sex,  have 
ever  been  the  first  considerations  of  the  Saracenic 
builder.  The  open  arcaded  hall,  facing  north  and 
overlooking  a  spacious  courtyard,  is  only  suitable 
in  a  southern  climate.  The  separate  entrance  to 
the  harem,  which  has  its  rooms  either  over- 
looking a  garden  or  a  court  of  its  own,  and  the 
careful  masking  of  the  windows  that  may  have 
to  face  the  street,  are  considerations  that  need 
trouble  no  northern  architect.  These  meshrebiya 
windows,  which  allow  the  outside  world  to  be 
seen  and  yet  hide  the  beholder,  are  also  used  in 
the  men's  part  of  the  house  to  screen  the  rays  of 
the  sun  while  admitting  a  free  circulation  of  air. 
Koranic  law,  even  if  it  does  not  actually  prohibit, 
has  never  encouraged  the  presentment  of  natural 
objects  as  a  basis  of  decoration  ;  yet  its  followers 
have  shown  how  possible  it  is  to  ornament  their 
buildings  with  great  beauty  despite  this  draw- 
back. The  narrowness  of  the  streets  permits  a 
visit  to  a  neighbour  or  attendance  at  a  mosque 
without  having  to  step  out  of  the  shade,  while 
the  large  courtyards  and  gardens  give  the  re- 
quired air-spaces.  As  the  richer  folk  are  gradually 
leaving  these  quarters  to  live  in  the  newer 
town,  the  sanitary  arrangements  are  shockingly 
neglected,  and  ever  tend  to  increase  this  exodus. 
Indeed,  properly  to  drain  old  Cairo  may  possibly 

58 


COURTYARD  IN  A  CAIRRNE  HOUSE 


'A* 


OLD    CAIRO 

be  the  only  means  of  saving  it  from  complete 
ruin. 

We  now  skirt  the  wall  of  the  Sadaat's  garden, 
and  after  one  or  two  turns  we  pass  the  mosque  of 
Hasan  Pasha.  Though  this  was  built  some  three 
centuries  after  Arab  architecture  had  reached  its 
highest  perfection,  it  is  still  a  very  artistic  struc- 
ture. Its  style  is  not  equal  to  the  great  work  of 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  but  fortu- 
nately the  decline  of  architecture  was  as  slow  a 
process  as  its  rise  had  been.  To  give  a  very  felicitous 
quotation  from  Stanley  Lane  Poole's  "  Story  of 
Cairo," — "  Everything  in  the  East  changes  by  almost 
imperceptible  degrees,  and  the  mills  of  God  in 
Egypt  grind  with  the  tedious  slowness  of  the 
creaking  sakujas  of  the  country." 

The  surroundings  of  this  mosque  help  its 
pictorial  value  considerably.  For  one  thing,  space 
allows  of  its  being  seen  from  a  sufficient  distance 
to  take  in  the  whole  of  the  exterior,  with  the 
picturesque  little  arcaded  school  above  the  sebil, 
and  a  tree  which  seems  to  have  grown  there  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  improving  the  composition. 
It  is  all  in  a  warm,  rich  key  of  colour.  The  alter- 
nating courses  of  red  and  buff-coloured  stone 
which  may  have  looked  crude  when  Hasan  Pasha 
was  laid  to  rest  here  are  now  beautifully  blended 
together  ;  time  has  also  dealt  kindly  with  the 

59 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

rather  over-elaborate  detail.  It  is  still  sharply 
defined  above,  where  the  afternoon  sun  emphasises 
the  drawing,  but  it  is  worn  away  at  the  base,  and 
at  the  entrance  by  the  countless  worshippers  who 
have  crossed  its  threshold.  It  looks  in  sound 
repair,  so  let  us  hope  that  no  restorations  may  be 
needed  here  for  some  time  ;  for  however  well  they 
may  be  done  they  cannot  fail  to  rob  it  of  much  of 
its  charm  and  poetry. 

In  Cairo  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  back  to  a 
remote  period  to  find  beautiful  architecture,  for 
the  dwelling-houses  were  built  on  the  old  lines 
right  up  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
the  beautiful  example  we  have  referred  to,  the 
Sadaat's  house,  is  not  two  hundred  years  old.  The 
periods  are  difficult  to  mark  in  Egypt,  for  there 
was  never  here  the  violent  change  in  style  which 
Europe  witnessed  during  the  Renaissance.  Things 
went  on  much  the  same  until  Mohammed  Ali's 
accession  in  1805,  and  since  that  time  Arab  archi- 
tecture has  not  changed,  but  has  ceased  to  exist. 
I  doubt  whether  a  native  Cairene  architect,  with 
any  knowledge  of  the  building  art  of  his  fore- 
fathers, could  now  be  found.  The  few  houses 
built  in  the  so-called  "  style  Arabe  "  are  designed 
by  Europeans,  and  the  restoration  of  the  monu- 
ments is  now  in  the  hands  of  Christians.  Let  us 
hope  that  some  day  the  Egyptian  may  himself 

60 


OLD    CAIRO 

awaken  to  the  fact  that  the  architecture  of  his 
forbears  is  more  beautiful  and  better  suited  to 
his  climate  and  surroundings  than  that  of  the 
nondescript  erections  which  are  now  run  up  in  the 
modern  quarters  of  his  city,  and  that  a  new  Cairo, 
built  upon  the  lines  of  the  old  city,  may  yet  arise, 
to  delight  all  lovers  of  the  suitable  and  the 
picturesque. 


61 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN 

CONTINUING  our  walk  in  a  southerly  direction 
along  what  might  be  called  the  "  Faubourg  St. 
Germain  "  of  the  old  town,  we  pass  the  mosque 
of  Ezbek  el-Yusefi  and  wander  on  through  some 
deserted  looking  streets  until  we  reach  the 
"  Sharia  "  Tulun.  The  houses  about  here  appear 
more  dilapidated  than  ever,  but  here  and  there  a  fine 
display  of  meshrebiya  bay  windows  and  a  handsome 
doorway  remind  us  that  we  are  still  in  what  was 
once  the  aristocratic  part  of  the  city.  A  sharp 
turning  takes  you  up  a  narrow  lane  and  you  are  at 
the  entrance  gate  of  the  mosque  of  Ibn  Tulun. 
Little  of  the  exterior  is  visible  from  here  as  partly 
ruined  houses  butt  against  the  outside  walls.  We 
mount  a  flight  of  stairs,  pass  under  a  high  arch- 
way, and  enter  the  outer  court  which  extends 
round  three  sides  of  this  huge  enclosure.  We  then 
ascend  some  more  steps  on  our  left,  pass  through 
one  of  the  cloisters  of  the  Liwan,  and  enter  the 

62 


A  LANE  IN  THE  TULUN  QUARTER  AT    CAIRO 


* 

THE    MOSQUE    OF    IBN   TULtlN 

inner  court.  The  size  and  desolation  of  this 
mosque  is  what  strikes  one  most  ;  the  silence  also 
is  awe-inspiring  ;  no  sound  from  the  outside  world 
penetrates  to  this  enclosure,  and  the  dust  of  ages 
deadens  the  sound  of  our  footsteps. 

The  stories  we  are  told  concerning  this  mosque 
seem  less  legendary  as  the  enchantment  of  the 
place  takes  hold  of  us.  The  plateau  on  which  we 
stand  is  on  a  part  of  the  hill  of  Yeshkur  which  has 
had  a  hallowed  reputation  from  time  immemoriaL 
We  are  told  that  here  Moses  communed  with 
Jehovah,  that  prayers  offered  up  here  are  more 
likely  to  be  answered  than  those  from  any  other 
place,  and  we  are  not  far  from  the  Kalat-el-Kebsh 
(the  castle  of  the  ram)  where  Abraham  is  believed 
to  have  made  his  burnt  offering,  very  much  to  the 
relief  of  his  little  son  Isaac. 

The  story  of  how  the  money  was  obtained  to 
build  this  great  structure  also  savours  of  the 
miraculous.  Ahmed  Ibn  Tulun,  while  wandering 
over  the  Mokattam  hills  found  a  great  treasure 
concealed  in  a  cave  called  "  Pharaoh's  oven."  This 
providential  find  he  vowed  he  would  dedicate  to 
Allah  and  build  a  mosque  large  enough  to  hold  the 
whole  population  of  his  capital.  The  site  seemed 
clearly  indicated,  no  other  than  this  hallowed  spot 
at  the  edge  of,  and  dominating,  his  new  faubourg 
El-Katai,  and  far  from  the  mosque  of  Amr  in  the 

63 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

centre  of  Fostat,  but  close  to  his  palace  and  the 
houses  of  his  nobles. 

Plans  were  drawn  out  by  his  greatest  architects ; 
but  a  difficulty  here  arose.  The  great  Emir  was  a 
man  of  culture  and  a  scholar,  and  would  not  sanction 
the  destroyal  of  the  temples  to  furnish  him  with 
the  columns,  600  of  which  were  required.  His 
tolerance  also  forbade  his  demolishing  the  Christian 
churches  for  that  purpose.  A  Coptic  architect  who 
was  at  the  time  a  prisoner  in  El-Katai  submitted  a 
plan  to  solve  the  difficulty.  He  proposed  to  substi- 
tute for  the  columns  piers  built  of  burnt  brick, 
reserving  but  two  pillars  of  coloured  marble  to 
stand  on  each  side  of  the  "  Kibla."  The  grandeur 
and  originality  of  the  design  was  appreciated  by 
Ibn  Tulun,  and  the  Coptic  prisoner  was  entrusted 
with  the  carrying  out  of  his  plans.  This  fine 
mosque,  worthy  of  the  sacred  site  it  covers,  was 
begun  in  876  and  completed  in  two  years.  It  has 
done  more  than  any  other  great  work  of  its  founder 
to  keep  the  name  of  Ibn  Tulun  fresh  in  the 
memories  of  his  countrymen. 

The  Liwan,  or  cloister,  at  the  south-eastern  side, 
where  the  "  Kibla,"  the  niche  that  points  in  the 
direction  of  Mekka,  stands,  is  formed  of  five  rows 
of  arches,  one  of  which  has  now  disappeared,  while 
a  double  row  runs  round  the  other  three  sides  of 
the  square.  The  general  plan  is  that  of  most 


THE   MOSQUE    OF   IBN   TULUN 

mosques  of  from  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth  century  ; 
but  a  striking  feature  is  the  presence  of  the  pointed 
arch  at  so  early  a  date.  There  is  a  slight  inward 
curve  where  it  springs  from  the  pier,  but  not 
sufficient  to  remind  one  of  the  Moorish  horseshoe 
arch.  At  the  corners  of  the  piers  a  half  column  is 
let  in  and  serves  as  a  chamfer.  A  smaller  arch,  of 
similar  proportions,  pierces  the  spaces  between  the 
larger  ones,  which  lightens  the  appearance  and  also 
lessens  the  weight  the  piers  have  to  carry.  A  run- 
ning pattern,  round  both  arch  and  the  tops  of  the 
piers,  relieves  the  otherwise  extreme  severity  of  the 
design.  This  ornamentation  was  all  worked  with 
a  tool  in  the  plaster  while  this  was  still  moist,  and 
has  a  life  about  it  that  no  casting  or  stencilling  can 
give.  The  magnificent  wooden  pulpit  is,  alas  ! 
but  a  skeleton  of  what  it  was.  The  place  was  for 
so  long  uncared  for,  that  most  of  the  ornament 
within  reach  has  been  stolen,  either  to  sell  to  the 
collector  of  curios  or  even  for  use  as  firewood.  The 
Kibla,  surrounded  with  a  double  arch,  supported  on 
two  pairs  of  marble  columns,  is  richly  embellished 
with  mosaics  and  precious  stones.  Its  proportions 
are  very  fine,  and  it  is  a  gem  of  colour,  while  the  old 
Kufic  lettering  of  the  texts  above  add  greatly  to  the 
character  of  the  place,  and  are  most  decorative. 

One    gets     charming    perspective    views    while 
moving  along  under  the  shadow  of  this  liwan  and 

65  F 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

looking  crosswise  through  these  arcades  into  the 
patch  of  sunlight  in  the  open  court.  A  curious 
corkscrew  shaped  tower,  which  can  hardly  be  called 
a  minaret,  rises  out  of  the  walls  at  the  north-east 
corner.  This  is  well  worth  ascending,  for  you  will 
obtain  a  grand  view  of  Cairo  from  its  summit. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  the  old  quarters  of  the  city 
are  spread  out  to  the  north  of  you.  Innumerable 
domes  and  minarets  rise  everywhere  from  this 
mass  of  houses  ;  some  singly,  while  others,  where 
they  are  relieved  one  against  the  rest,  appear  to 
be  in  clusters.  Were  Ibn  Tulun  permitted  in  spirit 
to  see  this  sight,  he  would  find  it  hard  to  realise 
that  he  was  standing  on  the  tower  he  built.  In  his 
day,  nothing  of  what  we  now  behold  existed.  Save 
a  few  Arab  tents,  not  a  habitation  was  here  ;  there 
was  then  only  marshy  land,  submerged  during  the 
high  Nile,  to  your  left,  and  a  sandy  waste  to  the 
right.  Far  away  to  the  west  the  Emir  would  still 
recognise  the  Pyramids,  as  unchangeable  as  the 
Mokattam  hills  to  the  east  ;  but  this  would  be  all 
which  could  recall  the  country  that  he  had  ruled 
a  thousand  years  ago.  El  Kaluro  was  non-existent 
then.  To  the  south  he  would  vainly  seek  his  royal 
faubourg  of  "  El-Katai,"  amidst  the  rather  squalid 
houses  now  standing  ;  "  El-Askar"  is  no  more,  and 
only  the  hill  of  Babylon  now  attests  the  spot  where 
Amr  built  the  "  Town  of  the  Tent,"  or  Fostat. 

66 


COURT  IN  THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBRAHIM  AGA,  CAIRO 


THE   MOSQUE   OF   IBN   TULUN 

Perhaps  the  most  impressive  sight  to  us  now  is 
this  great  desolate  mosque  immediately  beneath  us. 
The  veneration  the  site  was  held  in  must  have 
attracted  thousands  of  worshippers  ;  the  various 
tribes  that  composed  the  Emir's  army,  who  were 
quartered  in  the  cantonments  just  outside,  will 
have  filled  this  great  court  when  some  noted 
Sheykh  preached  here  to  inflame  their  enthusiasm 
before  starting  on  their  campaigns.  Saladin  will 
here  have  offered  up  thanks  to  Allah  after  worsting 
the  Crusaders,  and  have  prayed  that  the  Crescent 
might  finally  triumph  over  the  Cross.  But  the  belief 
that  prayers  are  more  likely  to  be  answered  in  this 
sacred  spot  than  in  any  other  fails  to  draw  worship- 
pers here  now.  That  it  might  be  haunted  with 
"  Affrits  "  might  easily  suggest  itself  to  the  imagi- 
native oriental,  and  he  might  feel  safer  in  repairing 
to  a  less  dilapidated  place  of  worship,  and  one  less 
frequented  by  these  unpleasant  beings.  The  artist 
who  fights  shy  of  an  admiring  crowd  may  work 
here  in  safety,  and  may  thank  the  lurking  "  Affrit  " 
for  so  effectually  keeping  off  the  small  boys. 

We  now  follow  the  "  Sharia  Tulun  "  for  about 
half  a  mile,  when  we  come  in  sight  of  the  mosque  of 
Mohammed  Ali  which  crowns  the  citadel.  There 
is  always  something  to  interest  one  while  strolling 
along  any  of  these  streets,  for  every  important  event 
in  the  life  of  the  Cairene  has  some  manifestation  in 

67  F  2 


BELOW    THE   CATARACTS 

the  streets.  Those  red  flags,  hung  across  the  mys- 
terious little  alley  which  we  look  down,  betoken 
either  a  marriage  or  a  birth.  The  noise  of  hautbois 
and  drums  in  the  distance  suggests  the  latter. 
Presently  a  procession  headed  by  musicians  turns 
into  the  main  street  and  approaches  this  alley  ; 
the  boy  carrying  the  barber's  sign  tells  you  that  a 
circumcision  is  also  being  celebrated,  for  the 
humbler  folk  will  often  combine  several  family 
events  to  lessen  the  expense.  Two  or  three  camels, 
caparisoned  in  gorgeous  cloths  of  red  and  gold, 
with  tassels  swinging  from  their  necks,  carry  each 
a  pair  of  kettle-drums,  which  the  driver,  sitting 
cross-legged  on  the  hump,  is  vigorously  belabour- 
ing. Several  carriages  follow,  crammed  with  little 
boys  dressed  in  the  gayest  colours  ;  these  are  the 
companions  of  the  one  or  two  little  chaps  who 
have  made  their  first  acquaintance  with  the  barber, 
who,  as  in  former  times  in  England,  combines 
surgery  with  the  tonsorial  art. 

A  closed  carriage  forms  the  rear,  and  lattice 
sashes,  or  a  close  drawn  curtain,  carefully  conceal 
the  bride.  Sometimes  she  is  carried  to  her  new 
home  in  a  little  swing  between  two  camels,  fore 
and  aft.  When  funds  allow,  another  set  of 
musicians  follow  this  cortege  ;  but  more  often 
the  female  relatives  and  friends  bring  up  the  rear, 
uttering  a  shrill  noise  betokening  joy,  called  "  el 

68 


THE    MOSQUE   OF    IBN    TULtlN 

gaharit."  The  poor  bride  has  a  long  day  of  it,  for, 
previous  to  the  wedding,  a  similar  procession 
follows  her  to  the  baths,  and  this  is  called  "  Zeffet 
el  Hamman."  The  furniture  of  her  new  house  is 
also  paraded  through  the  streets  ;  those  curious, 
long,  two-wheeled  donkey-carts  being  used  for  the 
purpose. 

The  upper  classes  generally  adopt  the  Turkish 
marriage  customs,  and  the  ceremonial  and  festivities 
are  more  confined  to  the  house,  but  in  neither  case 
does  the  bridegroom  see  the  features  of  his  bride 
until  the  wedding  has  taken  place. 

My  wife  and  one  of  my  sons  were  invited  to 
attend  the  marriage  festivities  at  the  house  of  a 
pasha  where  all  was  conducted  "  a  la  Turque."  The 
day  had  been  spent  by  the  principals  in  going 
through  the  more  serious  formalities,  and  most  of 
the  wedding  guests  only  arrived  at  eight  or  nine 
in  the  evening.  My  wife  and  my  son, — who  was 
still  too  young  to  be  objected  to  on  the  score  of 
sex, — were  conducted  into  the  harem,  while  I  had 
to  join  the  male  portion  of  the  family,  and  their 
numerous  friends,  in  the  courtyard.  Gaily  coloured 
hangings  and  Chinese  lanterns  brightened  the  scene, 
coffee  and  cigarettes  were  continually  handed  round, 
also  sherbet  and  other  non-intoxicating  drinks,  and 
on  a  large  dais  some  musicians  were  playing  an 
accompaniment  to  the  singing  of  the  local  Sims 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

Reeves.  The  expression  of  approval  of  the 
audience,  which  grew  more  marked  as  the  song 
proceeded,  was  the  only  evidence  I  had  that  we 
were  listening  to  an  exceptionally  fine  vocalist. 
Personally,  I  could  not  greatly  appreciate  it,  and 
I  was  relieved  when  a  servant  later  on  informed 
me  that  the  "  Sitt "  (my  wife)  was  ready  to  drive 
back  to  the  hotel.  Greater  familiarity  with  Arab 
music  has  taught  me  to  appreciate  it  more,  but  to 
feel  the  raptures  that  my  fellow  guests  did  is  only 
given  to  those  who  are  born  to  it  ! 

I  was  curious  to  know  what  had  taken  place  in 
the  harem.  The  gathering  of  ladies  there,  I  was 
told,  very  much  resembled  a  similar  one  in  Europe. 
The  black  silk  shawl  which  envelops  their  smart 
clothes  when  they  are  in  the  outer  world,  was  not 
necessary  here,  nor  the  yashmak  that  hides  their 
features.  As  my  wife  knew  no  one,  and  the 
conversation  was  carried  on  almost  entirely  in 
Arabic,  she  confessed  to  feeling  somewhat  out  of 
it.  The  event  of  the  evening,  however,  compensated 
her,  for,  shortly  before  our  departure,  the  bride- 
groom, with  his  brothers  and  some  friends,  left 
our  company  and  proceeded  to  the  entrance  of 
the  harem,  where  they  knocked  loudly  at  the 
door,  and  when  this  was  opened,  the  young  man 
about  to  be  made  happy  bade  adieu  to  his  com- 
panions and  entered.  His  veiled  bride  was  there 

70 


A  STREET  NEAR  THE  CITADEL,  CAIRO 


THE    MOSQUE   OF    IBN   TUL^N 

to  meet  him,  and  then,  in  the  presence  of  her 
relations,  the  young  man  uncovered  her  face  and 
gazed  on  her  features  for  the  first  time.  The 
lady  guests  then  thought  it  discreet  to  retire,  and 
carriages  were  ordered  to  draw  up. 

Arriving  at  the  end  of  the  street  where  we  have 
been  entertained  by  this  marriage  procession,  we 
cross  the  Place  Rumeleh,  and  ascend  the  slope 
leading  to  the  citadel.  Mohammed  Ali  chose  a 
grand  site  for  his  mosque  and  tomb,  and,  considering 
the  date  of  its  construction — the  middle  of  the  last 
century — we  may  be  thankful  that  its  exterior  is 
still  so  fine.  We  may  regret  that  his  architect  did 
not  seek  his  inspiration  from  some  of  the  grand 
monuments  which  it  overlooks,  instead  of  copying 
a  mosque  in  Constantinople,  but  we  may  be  thankful 
that  he  did  not  go  to  Paris  for  his  model  !  The 
Madeleine,  well  as  it  looks  in  the  French  capital, 
would  have  been  as  much  out  of  place  here  as 
is  that  "  imitation  of  a  boulevard,"  the  "  Sharia 
Mohammed  Ali,"  which  leads  to  the  mosque. 
Sightseers,  though  they  may  have  but  one  day  in 
which  to  do  Cairo,  are  always  conducted  here  ;  and 
the  cost  of  the  alabaster  used  in  the  interior,  and 
that  of  the  ballroom  chandeliers  suspended  from  the 
dome  seems  to  interest  a  great  many.  Let  us  con- 
tent ourselves  in  this  instance  with  a  glance  at  the 
exterior,  and  so  turn  to  the  view  from  the  parapet 

71 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

at  the  south-west  corner.  It  is,  of  course,  much 
the  same  as  that  which  kept  us  so  long  on  the  tower 
of  Ibn  Tulun  ;  but,  seen  from  a  fresh  point  of  view, 
one  can  enjoy  the  changed  grouping  of  the  domes 
and  minarets  which  rise  from  the  pale,  buff  mass  of 
houses  beneath  us.  We  can  follow  the  course  of 
the  Nile  from  the  far  southern  horizon  till  it  loses 
itself  in  the  Delta,  formed  during  countless  ages  by 
its  fertilising  deposit.  The  strip  of  green  on  each 
side  of  its  banks  alternately  widens  or  contracts, 
clearly  marking  the  reach  of  the  life-giving  waters 
during  the  inundations.  We  again  view  the  Pyra- 
mids, relieved  against  the  hills  of  the  Libyan  desert, 
and  we  promise  ourselves  to  return  here  some  even- 
ing when  the  sun  will  beat  down  on  us  less  strongly, 
and  when  we  shall  see  it  sink  into  the  west. 

The  deserted  mosque  of  Gamia  Ibn  Kalaun  is 
hidden  behind  its  modern  and  more  prosperous- 
looking  neighbour.  It  was  used  until  quite  recently 
as  a  military  storehouse,  and  previous  to  that  it  had 
served  as  a  prison.  The  dome  has  fallen  in,  most 
of  the  coloured  marble  which  adorned  the  interior 
has  gone,  yet  enough  remains  to  show  that  it  was 
worthy  of  the  great  Mameluke  Sultan  who  built 
it.  El-Nasir's  palace  formerly  stood  near  it,  but 
this,  with  its  famed  "  Hall  of  Columns,"  had  to 
make  way  for  the  mosque  of  Mohammed  Ali. 

On  the  south-east  we  come  to  Joseph's  well,  "  Bir 

72 


THE    MOSQUE   OF   IBN   TULtFN 

Yusuf."  Tradition  tells  us  that  this  is  the  pit  into 
which  Joseph  was  cast  by  his  brethren,  and  though 
tradition  is  out  in  its  topography  by  some  300 
miles,  this  story  is  still  firmly  believed  by  many, 
and  is  solemnly  repeated  by  some  of  the  dragomans. 
Though  having  no  connection  with  the  Joseph  of 
scripture,  it  is  interesting  to  learn  that  it  takes  its 
name  from  "  Salahedden  Y-usuf,"  the  saladin  of  the 
Crusaders,  who  constructed  the  citadel  in  the 
twelfth  century.  Two  "  sakiyehs,"  worked  by 
oxen,  bring  the  water  to  the  surface. 

We  now  retrace  our  steps,  and  are  once  more 
reminded  of  the  position  England  holds  in  this 
country  by  meeting  a  squad  of  '  Tommies  '  ascend- 
ing to  their  quarters  in  Saladin's  castle. 


73 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  MOSQUE  OF  SULTAN  HASAN 

WE  next  make  for  the  grey-domed  mosque  which 
faces  us  across  the  square.  Not  only  is  this  the 
finest  monument  in  Cairo,  but  also  the  most  perfect 
specimen  extant  of  Saracenic  architecture.  It  was 
originally  built  by  Sultan  Hasan  in  1356  to  serve  as 
a  theological  college  or  "  medreseh,"  but  has  since 
been  used  as  a  congregational  mosque.  We  have 
seen  a  fine  example  of  the  true  form  of  mosque  in 
that  of  Ibn  Tulun,  planned  as  it  is  to  hold  a  vast 
congregation  in  its  spacious  inner  court.  The 
medresehs  being  intended  for  the  accommodation 
of  scholars,  space  was  not  needed  for  so  great  a 
number  of  worshippers,  but  more  attention  had  to 
be  given  to  the  requirements  of  the  lecturers  and 
to  the  housing  of  the  pupils.  The  dome,  which  is 
so  important  a  feature  here,  as  in  so  many  other 
mosques  in  Cairo,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
mosque  proper,  but  only  exists  as  a  covering  to  a 
tomb.  So  many  of  the  religious  monuments  in 

74 


THE    MOSQUE    OF   SULTAN    HASAN 

Cairo  serve  as  the  last  resting-place  of  their  founders 
that  these  domed  mausoleums  have  erroneously 
come  to  be  considered  a  necessary  feature  of  a 
Moslem  place  of  worship. 

The  cruciform  plan  of  the  Sultan  Hasan 
mosque  is  not  seen  from  the  exterior,  as  the  angles 
are  filled  in  with  rooms  and  offices  necessary  to  a 
college.  The  vast  wall-space  facing  the  road  is 
therefore  only  broken  when  windows  are  required 
to  light  these  apartments.  The  simplicity  of  this 
facade  enhances  the  grandeur  of  the  cornice  which 
runs  around  the  top  of  the  building.  A  stalactite 
ornamentation  breaks  the  horizontal  lines  at  the 
projection  of  each  course  of  stones,  and  the  plain- 
ness of  the  wall  space  below  this  cornice  is  enriched 
by  the  beautiful  shadow  cast  by  it.  At  noon  this 
shadow  sweeps  far  down  the  face  of  the  building 
until  we  reach  the  angle  where  the  wall  turns  more 
to-  the  sun  ;  here  the  shadow  shortens  as  if  loath 
to  break  the  contour  of  the  magnificent  portal 
which  we  are  about  to  enter. 

We  ascend  a  flight  of  stairs,  and  from  the  landing 
this  huge  niche  rises  66  feet  above  us.  The  half- 
spherical  vaulting  of  the  arch  is  worked  up  to  by 
twelve  tiers  of  pendentives,  delicate  little  columns 
round  off  the  angles  near  the  base,  and  the  arched 
niches  that  face  each  other  on  either  side  of  the  door. 
Beautiful  arabesque  borders,  panels  and  medallions 

75 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

with  delicately-cut  geometrical  patterns  adorn  this 
stately  entrance.  The  original  bronze-plated  doors 
were  removed  by  El-Muaiyad  to  adorn  his  mosque  a 
century  later. 

Passing  into  a  domed  vestibule  and  up  two  pas- 
sages, we  are  provided  with  slippers,  that  our  boots 
may  not  defile  the  floors,  and  we  enter  the  "  salin," 
or  inner  courtyard.  The  four  enormous  arches 
which  divide  this  from  the  transepts  impress  one 
more  than  anything  else  ;  their  size  is,  indeed,  con- 
siderable, but  the  impression  of  size  they  give  is  far 
greater.  The  fountain  of  ablutions  stands,  as  is 
customary,  in  the  centre  of  the  open  court,  and  here 
there  is  a  smaller  drinking  fountain  in  addition. 
The  "  liwan,"  or  sanctuary,  is  slightly  raised  and 
covered  with  matting  and  prayer  carpets.  The 
"  dikka,"  or  tribune,  from  which  the  Koran  is  read, 
is  of  stone,  resting  on  graceful  columns.  The 
"  mihrab,"  or  "  kibla,"  as  the  prayer  niche  is  called, 
is  in  the  centre  of  the  Mekka  end  of  this  sanctuary, 
and  next  to  the  stone  pulpit. 

I  was  fortunate  enough  to  have  made  the  sketch 
which  is  reproduced  here  as  an  illustration  before 
the  restorations  were  begun  ;  for,  though  confident 
that  these  are  being  carried  out  in  the  best  possible 
manner,  the  newness  of  some  of  the  work  will 
require  many  years  to  harmonise  it  with  the  older 
surroundings.  Returning  to  this  mosque  some  ten 


THE  SANCTUARY  IN  THE  MOSQUE  OF  SULTAN 
HASAN 


THE    MOSQUE    OF   SULTAN    HASAN 

years  later,  intent  on  trying  to  reproduce  my  first 
impressions  of  the  court  and  the  great  span  of  the 
arch  which  frames  in  the  sanctuary,  I  was  deterred 
from  setting  up  my  easel  by  the  sight  of  scaffoldings 
and  the  noise  of  workmen.  Great  cobwebby  bits 
of  the  frieze,  with  its  Kufic  inscriptions,  were 
heaped  about  on  the  floor,  mouldy  slabs  of  coloured 
stone  had  been  taken  out  of  the  panels  to  be  squared 
up  and  cleaned  before  being  cemented  into  their 
original  places, — a  necessary  work,  no  doubt,  and 
it  is  a  blessing  that  it  is  directed  by  such  able  hands, 
but  it  sadly  resembles  one  of  those  "  blessings  in  dis- 
guise," which  we  are  told  to  be  thankful  for,  when 
laid  low  by  a  severe  visitation  of  Providence  ! 
Having  gone  so  far  in  this  work,  would  that  they 
could  go  a  step  further,  and  rehang  the  handsome 
bronze  lamps  that  at  various  times  have  been  pur- 
loined. Some  of  the  best  of  these  are  now  in  the 
Arab  museum,  but  they  would  look  incomparably 
better  in  the  surroundings  for  which  they  were 
designed.  The  arguments  I  have  repeatedly  heard, 
—that  valuable  objects  are  liable  to  be  stolen  from 
the  mosques — can  hardly  apply  to  a  lamp  weighing 
about  a  ton.  Some  of  these,  which  are  ticketed  and 
catalogued  in  the  museum,  have  been  replaced  in 
their  legitimate  home  by  lamps  that  would  disgrace 
a  merry-go-round  ! 

A  door  to  the  left  of  the  Kibla  leads  into  the 

77 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

mausoleum  of  Sultan  Hasan,  in  the  centre  of  which 
stands  his  sarcophagus.  The  dome,  which  is  such 
a  feature  from  outside,  forms  the  sepulchral  canopy. 
It  is  a  true  dome,  and  if  your  eye  can  penetrate  the 
gloom,  it  can  look  up  the  150  feet  that  it  rises  from 
the  ground. 

An  unworthy  monarch  was  this  sultan,  who  lies 
in  so  stately  a  resting-place.  We  forgive  him  a 
great  deal  for  having  raised  such  a  magnificent 
monument  ;  but  we  cannot  pardon  him  for  the 
dastardly  manner  in  which  he  rewarded  the  genius 
who  designed  it.  So  fearful  was  he  that  another 
might  employ  his  architect  to  raise  a  memorial 
which  might  eclipse  this  one,  that  he  ordered  the 
right  hand  of  the  designer  to  be  cut  off. 

In  spite  of  the  disturbed  times  in  which  this 
cruel  sultan  reigned,  he  was  able  to  devote  much 
time  and  treasure  to  building  mosques,  colleges, 
and  convents.  Nineteen,  in  Cairo  alone,  are 
recorded  as  having  been  erected  by  him  during  the 
ten  years  of  his  rule  ; — a  strange  record  for  a  licen- 
tious and  cruel  tyrant.  It  may  be  of  satisfaction  to 
some  that  he  met  with  as  violent  a  death  as  he  had 
so  often  inflicted  on  his  subjects.  A  few  days  before 
his  murder,  one  of  the  minarets  fell,  crushing  300 
children  in  the  school  below,  and  one  only  now 
remains  of  the  three  original  minarets  which  were 
completed  (there  were  to  have  been  four),  and  that 

78 


THE   MOSQUE  OF    SULTAN    HASAN 

is  the  taller  of  the  two  now  standing.  In  1660 
the  great  dome  collapsed,  and  has  been  replaced 
by  the  present  one. 

During  the  troublous  times  of  Hasan's  later 
successors,  guns  were  not  unfrequently  mounted 
on  the  terraced  roof,  from  which  one  faction 
would  try  to  dislodge  another  in  possession  of 
the  citadel  ;  and  during  peaceful  intervals  we 
hear  of  a  tight-rope  being  stretched  from  one 
of  the  minarets  to  a  citadel  bastion,  and  the 
Blondin  of  those  days  performing  on  it,  to 
the  delight  of  the  crowds  assembled  in  the 
square. 

Facing  the  Sultan  Hasan,  stands  the  unfinished 
mosque  Rifaiyeh,  called  after  a  sect  of  dervishes  of 
that  name  ;  which  contains  the  family  vault  of 
Ismail  Pasha. 

We  now  retrace  our  steps  towards  the  entrance 
of  the  citadel,  and  descend  the  Sharia  el  Magar. 
A  neglected  little  mosque,  with  fluted  dome  nestling 
close  to  the  minarets,  makes  a  charming  picture, 
whether  you  look  down  towards  it,  or  whether  you 
pass  it  and  look  up  the  street  towards  the  citadel 
mosque  just  visible  in  the  background.  Further 
down  a  dilapidated  house  has  crumbled  sufficiently 
to  expose  an  unimportant  but  delightful  tomb 
mosque,  with  two  stages  of  its  minaret  gone.  It 
is  a  ready-made  composition,  and  a  sheltering  door- 

79 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

way  at  the  proper  distance  invites  one  to  sit  down 

and  paint  it. 

It   is  a  cheery-looking  bit    seen   in  a  blaze   of 

sunshine,  though,  as  these  buildings  are  on  the  fringe 
of  a  great  burial-ground,  hardly  a  morning  went 
by  while  I  was  at  work  but  several  funeral  pro- 
cessions wended  their  way  up  this  street.  These 
are  generally  headed  by  a  number  of  poor,  and 
often  blind  beggars,  who  dolefully  chant  the  pro- 
fession of  their  faith — "  La  ilaha  ill  allah  wu 
Muhammed  rasul  allah  "  ;  these  are  followed  by  the 
male  relatives  of  the  deceased,  dervishes  carrying 
banners,  boys  singing  with  their  shrill  voices  verses 
from  the  Koran,  and  the  Koran  itself  carried  on  a 
stand  and  covered  with  a  coloured  piece  of  cloth. 
The  open  bier  now  follows,  borne  by  friends  of  the 
departed  one.  From  the  head  of  the  bier,  which 
is  always  foremost,  rises  a  short  wooden  shaft,  sur- 
mounted with  a  turban,  if  the  funeral  is  that  of  a 
man.  The  women  form  the  rear,  the  relatives 
usually  having  a  strip  of  blue  muslin  tied  round  their 
heads  ;  they  often  wave  about  a  piece  of  blue  cloth, 
while  the  sobbing  of  some  is  drowned  in  the 
wailing  of  others.  Professional  wailers  are  often 
employed  ;  and  the  peculiar  noise  they  make  is 
heartrending  till  one  learns  that  it  is  done  for  so 
much  an  hour.  This  is  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the 
Prophet,  but  the  custom  dates  back  from  such  a 

80 


TOMB  MOSQUE  OF  ARBOUGHAN,  CAIRO 


;,M  If 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  SULTAN  HASAN 

remote  period,  that  the  prohibition  has  failed  to 
stop  it.  The  men  wear  no  signs  of  mourning  ; 
their  argument,  that  it  is  selfish  and  wrong  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  one  who  has  died  in  the  faith, 
and  is  in  consequence  in  a  much  happier  state  than 
when  living,  is  logical,  but  apparently  not  con- 
vincing to  their  sisters,  who  vie  with  each  other  in 
expressing  their  grief.  Also  the  existence  of 
professional  wailers  is  hard  to  reconcile  with  the 
argument,  as  the  men  would  probably  have  a  say 
in  the  payment  of  these  women.  I  put  this  to  my 
faithful  Mohammed.  He  said  that  it  was  wicked, 
and  that  these  women  would  burn  in  hell  for 
it  ;  but  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders  he  seemed  to 
express  the  uselessness  of  righting  against  an  old 
custom — "  Maalesh."  As  for  these  wailers  them- 
selves, it  appears  to  be  but  a  poor  calling  indeed — 
to  howl  in  this  world  for  a  wage  of  a  few  pence 
with  such  awful  retribution  awaiting  them  in  the 
next  !  But  that  this  custom  obtained  in  very  early 
times  is  evidenced  by  some  of  the  wall  paintings 
in  the  tombs  at  Thebes. 

However,  while  ensconced  in  this  doorway  I 
have  watched  the  funeral  of  some  noted  saint  go 
by,  when  the  dead  silence  was  only  broken  at 
intervals  by  a  low  repetition  of  some  text  of  the 
Koran.  It  was  much  more  impressive,  and  a  great 
relief,  for  these  screaming  women  soon  got  on  my 

81  G 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

nerves.  The  peculiar  upright  shaft  at  the  head  of 
the  bier,  like  a  flagstaff  at  the  stern  of  a  ship,  bears 
some  sign  of  the  nationality  or  status  of  the 
deceased.  During  the  obsequies  of  the  saint  I 
noticed  that  this  staff  carried  a  green  turban. 
The  number  of  dervishes  was  greater,  and  the 
quantity  of  banners  showed  that  most  of  the  sects 
were  represented. 

To  the  left  of  our  illustration  rises  the  minaret 
of  the  Mosque  of  Aksunkur,  which  is  well  worth 
a  visit.  Built  by  one  of  the  sons  of  en-Nasir,  in 
the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  it  was 
restored  by  Ibrahim  Agha  300  years  later.  It  is 
now  known  by  the  name  of  the  latter  and  is  often 
called  the  "  Blue  mosque,"  from  the  colour  of  the 
tiles  which  Ibrahim  used  in  its  internal  decoration. 
It  is  this  mass  of  beautiful  tiles  which,  more  than 
anything  else,  draws  painters  to  this  shrine.  During 
the  hot  weather  the  large  surfaces  of  blue,  tending 
towards  green  in  places  and  violet  in  others,  make 
one  forget,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  height  of  the 
thermometer  ;  and  the  prevailing  colour  of  the 
heated  streets,  a  warm  buff  with  touches  of  red, 
makes  these  cool  shades  doubly  attractive. 

The  sanctuary  of  all  mosques  is  at  the  south-east, 
or  Mekka  end,  and  obtains  its  light  through  the 
open  colonnade  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  the  sun's 
rays,  therefore,  do  not  enter  here  till  late  in  the 

82 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  SULTAN  HASAN 

day,  when  they  have  lost  their  power ;  save,  now 
and  again,  when  a  little  patch  of  light  from  a 
clerestory  window  climbs  slowly  up  a  column  and 
imparts  to  it  the  hue  of  the  tiny  bits  of  glass 
it  filters  through.  It  is  therefore  very  much 
cooler  than  the  sun-baked  court  which  we  cross 
to  reach  it.  One  can  dispense  with  the  slippers 
that  the  attendant  wishes  to  fit  over  one's  boots, 
for  it  is  gratifying  to  have  so  good  an  excuse 
to  go  barefooted  ;  and,  away  from  the  street, 
one's  coat  and  waistcoat  can  also  be  dispensed 
with. 

It  is  well  to  work  in  some  other  part  of  the 
building  during  the  time  of  prayer  ;  the  palms 
casting  their  shadows  over  the  domed  fountain 
make  a  pretty  sketch,  and  the  blue-tiled  chamber, 
where  the  sarcophagus  of  Aksunkur  lies,  is  one 
of  the  most  pictorial  bits  in  Cairo.  During  the 
winter  a  sunny  corner  of  the  open  court  is  often 
selected  by  a  teacher  to  hold  his  class  in,  or  more 
often  it  is  used  by  some  unemployed  for  the  mid- 
day nap.  Little  children  will  play  about  here 
while  their  elders  are  at  their  devotions,  and  doves 
circle  around  and  drink  from  the  overflow  of  the 
fountain — when  the  kestrels  are  not  using  the 
minaret  as  a  point  of  vantage.  We  may  learn 
patience  from  the  mosque  cat,  as  he  sits  watching 
a  crack  in  the  wall  on  the  chance  of  securing  a  too 

83  G  2 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

venturesome  mouse  ;  a  chirp  from  a  sparrow,  in 
whose  movements  he  also  takes  a  kindly  interest, 
may  divert  his  eyes  for  a  moment  ;  but,  with  an 
unspoken — "  I'll  attend  to  you  presently,"  he 
directs  them  again  to  the  all-engrossing  hole  in 
the  wall. 

The  "  sala "  concluded,  we  may  return  to  the 
sanctuary,  while  the  worshippers  pick  up  their 
slippers,  which  lie  on  the  step  that  descends  to  the 
court,  and  carry  them  to  the  entrance,  where  they 
put  them  on  and  return  to  their  various  advoca- 
tions.  Except  on  Fridays,  there  appears  to  be  no 
one  to  lead  the  services ;  the  men  fall  into  rows 
before  the  "  Kibleh,"  and  go  through  certain 
prostrations  in  a  given  order,  while  reciting  the 
prescribed  verses  of  the  Koran.  Women  never 
attend  these  prayers,  which  probably  accounts  for 
the  fallacious  idea,  held  in  Europe,  that  Moham- 
medans consider  that  women  have  no  souls.  A 
Moslem  might  almost  equally  argue  that  the 
English  believe  that  women  alone  have  them, 
if  he  were  to  witness  some  of  our  services  where 
the  ladies  form  nearly  the  whole  of  the  congrega- 
tion. The  social  relations  of  the  sexes  oblige 
the  women  to  say  their  prayers  apart  from  the 
men,  but  they  have  to  keep  the  fast  of  Ramadan 
as  strictly  as  their  brothers  ;  which  would  be 
the  refinement  of  cruelty  if  they  have  no  souls 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  BLUE  MOSQUE,  CAIRO 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  SULTAN  HASAN 

to  benefit  by  it.  So  strict  is  this  fast  that  they 
may  only  break  it  when  they  are  nursing  a 
child,  and  they  have  to  make  up  for  it  when  the 
child  is  weaned.  A  few  will  occasionally  steal  into 
a  mosque,  when  the  men  are  away,  to  visit  the 
shrine  of  some  favourite  saint,  and  one  of  these 
which  has  some  miraculous  power  of  curing 
barrenness  is  especially  favoured. 

The  street  which  this  mosque  is  in  is  a  parti- 
cularly interesting  one  ;  not  so  much  on  account  of 
any  especial  monuments,  but  that  the  houses  seem 
to  have  suffered  less  from  European  influence,  and 
one  can  enjoy  these  all  the  more  as  it  is  not  a 
very  crowded  thoroughfare.  When  we  reach  the 
mosque  of  El-Merdani  we  are  on  familiar  ground, 
and  the  beautiful  Muaiyad  minarets  soon  come 
into  sight.  Leaving  the  Bab  Zuweleh  on  our 
right,  after  just  glancing  to  see  if  the  holy  man  of 
the  rags  and  the  spear  still  sits  there,  we  notice  on 
our  left  an  unpretentious  little  mosque  entrance 
at  the  top  of  a  stairway.  I  say  "  mosque," 
because  it  is  the  custom  to  call  most  places  con- 
nected with  Mohammedan  worship  by  that  name  ; 
but  what  the  building  actually  is  I  have  never 
been  able  to  learn.  We  enter,  cross  a  little 
cloister,  and  two  or  three  more  steps  take  us  into 
an  ideal  courtyard.  Two  sides  are  covered  with 
tiles,  and  in  the  centre  of  one  is  a  pretty  "  Kibleh," 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

or  praying  niche,  which  is  the  only  sign  that  one 
is  in  a  religious  enclosure  ;  some  trees,  and  the 
backs  of  the  houses  of  the  tent-bazaai,  rise 
above  this  ;  and  veiled  women  pass  in  and  out 
and  disappear  behind  the  wall  with  the  praying 
niche. 

While  I  painted  this  the  faithful  Mohammed 
informed  me  that  a  saint  was  buried  there  and  that 
these  ladies  said  their  prayers  around  his  shrine  ; 
but  more  than  this  I  could  not  find  out.  There 
might  possibly  have  been  the  prettiest  subject  for 
my  brush  behind  those  tiles,  but  I  concluded  that 
it  would  be  indiscreet  to  investigate  further.  No 
guide-books,  or  works  on  Arab  architecture,  say  a 
word  about  this  quaint  and  charming  spot  ;  and 
perhaps  this  is  just  as  well,  for  it  is  a  pearl  that 
should  not  be  cast  before, — well,  let  us  say, 
any  but  those  who  are  able  to  appreciate  its 
beauty. 

From  here  we  can  join  the  Avenue  Mohammed 
Ali,  near  the  Arab  museum,  and  so  return  to  the 
heart  of  the  European  quarter. 


86 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ANOTHER  RAMBLE  IN  OLD  CAIRO 

STARTING  from  the  "  Rond  Point "  up  the 
Muski  soon  after  that  thoroughfare  has  been 
crossed  by  the  Khalig,  we  can  work  our  way  to 
the  left  into  the  Derb-el-Yehudiyeh,  which  is  the 
main  street  traversing  the  Jewish  quarter.  Though 
not  restricted  to  a  ghetto  as  in  former  times,  the 
same  race  still  inhabit  this  part  of  Cairo.  The 
appearance  of  the  houses  and  of  their  inmates 
differs  but  slightly  from  that  of  the  Arab  quarters. 
A  few  more  men  in  European  dress  may  be  seen, 
but  these  are  probably  only  there  on  business,  and 
live  in  the  more  modern  parts  of  Cairo.  Younger 
Momen  have  ceased  to  veil  their  faces  now  the 
Moslem  has  become  used  to  seeing  the  "  Firangi  " 
ladies,  and  it  is  therefore  less  of  a  shock  to  his  sense 
of  decency  ;  but  until  recent  years  both  the  Coptic 
and  Jewish  women  wore  the  "  yashmak  "  ;  not,  of 
course,  as  a  religious  obligation,  but  as  a  protec- 
tion. The  Cairene  shows  more  traces  of  Semitic 

87 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

blood  thin  the  "  fellah  "  ;  it  is  therefore  chiefly  by 
some  slight  difference  in  the  dress,  which  custom 
rather  than  any  sumptuary  law  has  imposed,  that 
one  can  distinguish  the  Jew  from  the  Moslem. 
Arabic — their  language  in  common — being  much 
akin  to  Hebrew,  is  spoken  by  both  people  with 
the  same  accent  ;  yet,  slight  as  the  differences  are, 
the  Arab  can  always  detect  the  Ychudi,  even 
when  the  latter  has  embraced  Mohammedanism. 

The  Jewish  quarter  lies  at  the  back  of  the 
goldsmiths'  bazaar  which  we  entered  on  another 
occasion  from  the  Nahassm.  We  pass  this  on  our 
right  and  soon  enter  a  dilapidated  courtyard  of 
the  Muristan  of  Kalaun.  By  a  curious  chance,  a 
modern  dispensary  has  been  set  up  here,  and  the 
sick  people  awaiting  their  turn  to  have  their 
ailments  attended  to  by  an  up  to  date  native 
doctor,  can  recall  the  time  when  this  Muristan 
was  the  great  hospital  of  Cairo. 

Saladin  had  anticipated  the  great  work  of  the 
sultan  Kalaun  by  more  than  a  century.  The 
Spanish  Arab,  Ibn  Gubeyr,  who  visited  Cairo  in 
the  twelfth  century,  gives  a  detailed  account  of  it, 
and,  in  the  able  translation  of  his  travels  by  Mr. 
Guy  Le  Strange,  we  read  that  Saladin  "  was 
prompted  to  the  meritorious  deed  of  establishing 
this  hospital  solely  by  the  hope  of  gaining  favour 
with  God  and  recompense  in  the  world  to  come." 


THE  TOMB  OF  IBRAHIM  AGA 


ANOTHER  RAMBLE  IN  OLD  CAIRO 

"  This  great  palace,  spacious  and  magnificent,"  to 
once  more  quote  the  Spaniard,  could  not  long  have 
outlasted  the  good  sultan,  for  all  we  see  of  the 
present  building  was  erected  by  Kalaun  during 
the  following  century.  Parts  are  in  a  very 
ruinous  condition,  but  one  can  still  trace  some  of 
the  wards  set  aside  for  the  various  diseases  known 
at  that  time. 

A  lofty  corridor  leads  to  the  imposing  portal 
facing  the  coppersmiths'  bazaar.  To  the  left  of 
this  great  passage  you  enter  the  vestibule  of  the 
tomb  of  the  founder.  This  is  at  present  in  the 
hands  of  the  restorer,  as  well  as  the  tomb  chamber. 
Both  lend  themselves  especially  to  pictorial  treat- 
ment ;  the  simplicity  of  the  vestibule  with  the  green 
wooden  arcade  is  as  tempting  to  paint  as  the  rich, 
sombre  colour  of  the  great  mausoleum.  Groups 
of  students  are  often  to  be  seen  in  the  former, 
squatting  on  the  matting  and  listening  to  some 
"  ulema  "  expounding  texts  from  the  Koran.  Near 
the  tomb  hang  some  of  Kalaun's  garments,  which 
are  believed  to  possess  miraculous  healing  powers, 
and  many  sick  people  would  give  this  cure  a  trial 
before  resorting  to  the  "  Firangi-taught "  hakim 
in  charge  of  the  modern  dispensary  in  the  court- 
yard. 

The  prayer  recess  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful 
one  in  Cairo  ;  it  appeared  to  be  in  a  fairly  good 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

state  of  preservation  when  I  attempted  to  paint  it  a 
few  years  ago,  so  we  may  hope  that  the  workmen 
may  soon  cease  to  disturb  the  solemnity  of  the 
place. 

The  Muristan  Kalaun  is  the  most  important 
monument  of  the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth 
century  ;  that  it  should  be  carefully  preserved  is  all 
important  ;  and  the  sound  judgment  shown  by 
Herz  Bey  in  most  of  the  work  committed  to  his 
care,  leads  one  to  hope  that  preservation  rather 
than  restoration  is  what  is  being  done  in  this  case. 

Passing  through  the  black  and  white  marble 
portal,  we  will  follow  the  Nahassin  till  we  get  to  the 
Sebil  of  Abd-er-Rahman,  leaving  the  handsome 
tomb-mosques  of  Bab-en-Nasr  and  Barkuk  on  our 
left.  Here  we  shall  again  enjoy  the  perspective  of 
this  enchanting  street  before  diving  down  the  narrow 
lanes  leading  to  the  Gamaliyeh.  A  camel  laden  with 
tumbak,  the  coarse  kind  of  tobacco  smoked  in  the 
nargilehs,  may  so  completely  block  the  way,  that, 
if  you  cannot  duck  under  the  panniers,  you  may 
have  to  seek  refuge  in  some  doorway  until  the  brute 
has  gone  by.  One  or  two  larger  khans  in  these 
narrow  streets  appear  to  have  fallen  on  bad  times, 
for  the  cigarette  is  replacing  the  nargileh,  and 
the  tumbakiyeh  shows  signs  that  its  trade  has 
drifted  into  other  channels.  A  mosque,  at  the 
corner  before  you  turn  into  the  Gamaliyeh  street,  is 

90 


ANOTHER  RAMBLE  IN  OLD  CAIRO 

in  such  a  state  of  disrepair  that  it  looks  as  if  the 
tumbak  merchant  thought  that  his  business  was 
past  praying  for. 

The  main  street  we  are  now  in  has  much  of  the 
life  and  bustle  of  the  Nahassin,  but  all  is  on  a 
poorer  scale.  The  shops  look  less  prosperous,  the 
silk  robes  of  the  merchants  are  replaced  by  the  blue 
cotton  galabieh,  and  the  distinguished  beauty  of 
the  street  we  have  left  is  replaced  by  a  rugged 
picturesqueness.  •  At  an  angle  to  the  road,  the 
entrance  to  a  spacious  khan  makes  a  good  vantage 
ground  for  a  sketch,  while  a  stone  seat  on  either 
side  of  the  gateway  looks  as  though  placed  there  on 
purpose  to  accommodate  a  sketching  stool,  which 
probably  accounts  for  the  many  times  this  Gamaliyeh 
has  been  painted.  One  is  slightly  raised  above  the 
heads  of  the  people  while  the  angle  of  the  wall 
protects  one  from  an  inquisitive  crowd  in  the  rear. 
Even  when  not  painting  this  street  with  the  mosque 
of  Bibars  rising  in  the  centre  of  the  picture,  it  is  a 
useful  corner  from  which  to  make  rapid  studies  of 
the  people  as  they  approach  or  recede  from  one. 

I  witnessed  a  curious  incident  when  I  was  last 
ensconced  in  this  doorway.  A  man  was  leading  a 
camel  and  calling  out  to  every  shopman  as  he  passed. 
The  beast  bore  no  load,  so  I  could  not  think  what 
the  man  was  hawking.  Occasionally  someone 
would  stop  him,  and  appear  to  take  an  interest  in 

91 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

the  animal's  neck,  while  another  would  feel  his 
hump  or  thighs  ;  it  then  dawned  upon  me  that  the 
camel  was  for  sale,  but  not  till  he  got  near  me  did 
I  realise  that  the  brute  was  being  sold  piecemeal, 
and  that  its  different  joints  were  bespoken,  and 
scored  and  initialled  with  a  bit  of  chalk.  What  rela- 
tion the  price  per  pound  of  the  best  part  of  the  neck 
bore  to  the  price  of  a  pound  of  hump  I  was  unable 
to  ascertain.  This  cold-blooded  proceeding  made  me 
resolve  to  become  a  vegetarian,  a  resolution  to  which, 
except  at  meal  times,  I  have  strictly  adhered. 

As  we  proceed  along  the  Gamaliyeh  the  signs  of 
decay  are  more  and  more  manifest.  Fine  old  houses 
are  tenanted  by  the  poorest  of  people,  the 
meshrebiya  has  dropped  from  most  of  the  bay 
windows,  which  are  either  roughly  boarded  up,  or 
disfigured  by  bits  of  sacking  to  keep  out  the  draught ; 
great  ragged  awnings  float  across  the  road,  where 
some  shopman  still  has  some  goods  worth  protecting 
from  the  rays  of  the  sun.  The  houses  in  the  side 
streets  are  yet  more  ruinous  than  those  in  the  main 
thoroughfare.  This  appearance  of  decay,  which 
one  sees  here  and  in  so  large  a  part  of  Cairo,  is 
hard  to  reconcile  with  the  increased  prosperity  of 
Egypt,  of  which  one  hears  so  much. 

The  Gamaliyeh  ends  at  the  Bab-en-Nasr,  the  gate 
of  victory,  which,  together  with  the  Bab-el-Futuh, 
or  gate  of  capture,  was  built  during  the  latter  part 

92 


RL-GAMALIYEH,  CAIRO 


ANOTHER  RAMBLE  IN  OLD  CAIRO 

of  the  iith  century  by  the  famous  vizier  Bedr  el- 
Gamali.  The  mosque  of  Hakim,  dating  from  a 
century  earlier,  nearly  fills  up  the  space  between 
these  two  gates.  Napoleon  quartered  some  of  his 
troops  here  in  1799,  fully  realising  the  strength  of 
the  position. 

These  two  gates,  together  with  the  Bab  Zuweleh, 
have  puzzled  a  good  many  archaeologists.  Their 
style  is  not  Saracenic  ;  it  savours  more  of  the 
Norman.  M.  van  Berchem,  who  has  made  a  special 
study  of  the  old  enceinte  of  the  city,  describes  them 
as  of  the  Templars'  style  of  military  architecture, 
but  as  they  were  erected  some  ten  years  before  the 
date  of  the  first  crusade,  this  influence  upon  their 
style  seems  extraordinary.  Van  Berchem  discovered 
Greek  mason's  marks,  which  accord  with  their 
Byzantine  appearance,  and,  as  the  great  vizier  Bedr 
was  an  Armenian,  it  is  probable  that  he  sought  his 
architect  among  his  own  countrymen.  We  are, 
however,  more  concerned  with  their  pictorial 
aspect  ;  and,  impressive  as  they  are,  it  is  difficult 
to  give  a  satisfactory  presentment  of  them. 

The  ruined  mosque  of  el-Hakim  that  fills  most  of 
the  angle  in  the  city  wall,  connecting  the  two 
gates,  is  a  capital  sketching  ground.  It  is  of  itself 
less  impressive  than  that  of  Ibn  Tulun,  which 
it  resembles  in  plan  ;  but,  being  more  accessible  to 
the  outside  world,  one  can  use  the  great  courtyard 

93 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

as  a  setting  for  groups  of  camels,  Bedouin  tents,  or 
much  else  of  the  furnishing  of  an  oriental  picture. 
Its  name  of  el-Hakim  doubtlessly  adds  to  the  interest 
of  the  place.  I  feel  sorely  tempted  to  purloin  the 
account  of  that  extraordinary  caliph  which  Stanley 
Lane  Poole  gives  in  his  Story  of  Cairo,  but  as 
this  delightful  book  is  within  easy  reach  of  anyone 
visiting  Egypt,  I  cannot  do  better  than  recommend 
it  to  my  readers. 

In  a  vacant  space,outside  the  Bab-en-Nasr,  and  ad- 
joininga  large  Mohammedan  cemetery, one  can  often 
watch  the  antics  of  "  Karakush,"  who  corresponds 
to  our  Punch.  Under  the  shadow  of  the  old  wall 
a  motley  crowd  form  a  circle  around  the  performers, 
who  generally  comprise  a  man,  a  small  boy,  a  dog, 
and  a  monkey.  A  free  use  of  the  stick  keeps  the 
small  boys  from  encroaching  on  the  area  that 
"  Karakush  "  considers  necessary  for  the  perform- 
ance. The  jokes,  which  may  date  from  the  Moslem 
invasion  of  Egypt,  have  lost  nothing  of  their  zest 
from  constant  repetition,  and  it  does  one's  heart 
good  to  hear  the  roars  of  laughter  of  the  audience. 
These  witticisms  are  coarser  than  would  be 
permitted  at  an  English  seaside  resort,  but  they 
must  be  judged  from  another  standpoint.  What  is 
hidden  or  only  hinted  at  with  us,  is  here  considered 
an  innocent  form  of  amusement  ;  and  broad  as  the 
jests  often  are,  they  are  refinement  itself  compared 

94 


ANOTHER  RAMBLE  IN  OLD  CAIRO 

to  what  may  be  heard  and  seen  in  the  more  modern 
part  of  Cairo.  "  Karakush,"  whose  very  name  now 
brings  a  smile  to  the  face  of  a  Cairene,  was,  however, 
not  a  comical  personage  in  his  day  ;  for  he  is 
described  as  one  of  Saladin's  most  faithful  emirs, 
and  we  hear  of  his  doing  nothing  more  humorous 
than  repelling  crusaders,  whose  uninvited  visits  he 
considered  an  impertinence. 

Merry-go-rounds,  that  might  serve  as  models  in 
Punch's  Prehistoric  Peeps,  are  often  set  up  here  ; 
and  on  religious  festivals  large  tents  project  from 
the  walls,  in  which  the  people,  who  have  had  their 
laugh  at  "  Karakush's  "  ribald  antics,  may  witness  a 
Zikr.  A  dozen  or  more  dervishes  will  here  form 
into  line,  and,  taking  the  lead  from  one  of  them, 
will  slowly  sway  backwards  and  forwards,  repeating 
the  name  of  Allah.  The  movement  gradually  gets 
faster  and  more  violent,  the  performers  seem  to 
lose  all  consciousness  of  their  surroundings,  until, 
having  reached  the  limits  of  physical  endurance, 
they  will  fall  out  and  lie  about  as  if  in  an  ecstatic 
trance. 

The  great  cemetery  which  borders  on  this  open 
space,  and  actually  invades  it  here  and  there,  in  no 
way  detracts  from  the  hilarity  of  the  crowd.  It  is 
unenclosed,  and  tombstones  may  serve  as  seats,  or 
for  small  boys  to  practise  leap-frog.  Amongst  these 
graves  is  that  of  Burckhardt,  the  oriental  traveller, 

95 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

who  died  in  1817.  To  the  Arabs  he  was  known 
as  the  Sheykh  Ibrahim. 

Following  the  city  wall  for  some  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  in  an  easterly  direction,  when  it 
turns  sharply  to  the  south,  we  leave  the  cemetery 
and  skirt  round  the  rubbish  mounds,  pass  the 
domed  tomb  of  Sheykh  Galal  on  our  left,  and  the 
so-called  Tombs  of  the  Caliphs  come  into  view. 
It  is  an  impressive  sight,  this  city  of  the  dead, 
whether  seen  in  a  mid-day  blaze  of  sunshine, 
or  towards  evening  when  the  rosy  light  from  the 
west  just  catches  the  domes  and  minarets,  while 
the  ruinous  buildings  at  their  base  are  lost  in 
the  violet  shade  of  the  rubbish  hills.  It  is  worth 
climbing  the  nearest  of  these  hills  to  get  a  more 
comprehensive  view  of  these  tombs.  Though  a 
city  dedicated  to  the  dead,  it  was  not  always,  as  at 
present,  a  dead  city  ;  for  each  mosque  tomb  had 
sufficient  endowment  to  keep  several  attendants, 
who  were  housed  close  by. 

The  ruins  of  khans  are  here  also,  suggesting 
that  some  trades  were  carried  on,  and  that  the 
baths  and  fountains  were  intended  to  supply  the 
wants  of  a  considerable  population.  They  were 
built  during  the  thirteenth  and  two  following 
centuries,  as  the  mausoleums  of  the  Bahrite  and 
Circassian  Mamelukes  who  were  then  ruling 
Egypt.  The  earlier  Caliphs  were  mostly  buried 


NEAR  THE  TOMBS  OF  THE  CALIPHS,  CAIRO 


ANOTHER  RAMBLE  IN  OLD  CAIRO 

in  what  is,  at  present,  the  centre  of  Cairo,  but 
what,  in  their  days,  was  outside  their  capital,  which 
lay  to  the  south,  and  of  which  very  few  vestiges 
now  remain.  The  Khan  Khalil  now  stands  on  the 
site  of  this  earlier  burial  place  ;  and  we  are  told 
that  when  it  was  built  the  bones  of  the  Caliphs 
were  dug  up,  carried  away  on  asses'  backs,  and  shot 
on  to  the  rubbish  hills. 

One  of  the  first  tombs  we  approach, — el-Seb'a 
Benat,  "  the  seven  sisters," — is  evidence  that  others 
besides  Mamelukes  lay  here,  but  who  these  seven 
ladies  were  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover.  As 
space  does  not  allow  of  an  examination  of  more 
than  the  outside  of  these  tombs,  we  will  make 
for  one  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  group  ;  that 
of  the  Sultan  Kait  Bey.  The  tomb  of  Sultan 
Barkuk,  on  our  left,  has  two  beautiful  domes  and  a 
pair  of  minarets.  It  is  worth  making  a  careful 
study  of  the  designs  on  each  of  the  many  domes  as 
we  pass  along.  The  general  plan  of  each  tomb 
differs  slightly  ;  but,  on  close  examination,  one  is 
surprised  to  find  how  varied  the  detail  is.  The 
mausoleum  of  Kait  Bey  is  the  finest  here,  and  its 
slender  minaret  and  beautifully  decorated  dome 
surpass  all  others.  It  has  all  the  appointments  of  a 
congregational  mosque  ;  the  fountain,  surmounted 
by  the  arcaded  school-room,  to  the  left  of  the  high 
entrance,  which  has  handsome  bronze-mounted 

97  H 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

doors  ;  the  central  open  court,  the  '  liwan,'  or 
sanctuary,  with  prayer-rugs  and  pulpit,  on  the 
Mekka  side;  and  finally  the  domed  sepulchre  of 
the  Sultan.  Though  built  a  century  after  Saracenic 
architecture  had  reached  its  highest  level,  it  may 
still  be  considered  one  of  the  gems  of  Cairo. 

Working  our  way  from  here,  either  round  or 
over  the  mounds  of  rubbish,  we  reach  the  Sharia 
esh-Sharawani, — the  continuation  of  the  Muski, 
and  so  return  to  the  European  quarter. 

A  tramway  runs  from  el-Ataba  Khadra,  near  the 
central  post  office,  to  what  is  known  as  Old  Cairo 
or  Masr-el-Atika  ;  it  passes  down  the  Boulevard 
Abd-ul-Aziz,  then  takes  a  turn  towards  the  Nile  ; 
and  from  where  the  Kasr-en-Nil  bridge  crosses 
the  river  we  follow  its  course  to  within  some  two 
or  three  hundred  yards  of  where  the  line  ends. 
The  trees  and  flowering  shrubs  help  to  disguise  the 
ugliness  of  the  modern  villas  that  we  pass  on  the 
way,  but  what  we  see  of  Old  Cairo  from  the 
tramway  is  less  interesting  than  much  that  we  have 
seen  in  parts  of  Cairo  even  more  deserving  of  the 
title  old. 

We  walk  up  the  bazaar  to  the  left  of  the  main 
road,  cross  the  railway,  and  at  the  end  of  a  narrow 
little  lane  we  pass  through  a  gateway  in  the 
encircling  wall  of  the  Roman  fortress  of  Babylon. 
Dilapidated  buildings  hide  too  much  of  the 


ANOTHER  RAMBLE  IN  OLD  CAIRO 

remains  of  the  castle  to  enable  us  to  appreciate 
its  importance.  The  inhabitants  of  this  quarter 
seem  shy  of  strangers  ;  possibly  an  inherited  fear  of 
an  unwelcome  visit  from  the  alien  people  outside 
their  enclosure.  However,  through  some  grating 
we  have  been  recognised  as  being  nothing  more 
alarming  than  "  Sawarhine,"  and  a  prospect  of 
backsheesh  brings  out  some  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
follow  us  through  this  warren  till  we  reach  the 
church  of  St.  George,  or  Mari  Girgis. 

There  is  so  much  similarity  in  the  conditions  in 
which  these  people  live  and  that  of  the  dwellers  in 
a  Moorish  "mellah  "  (the  Arabic  Ghetto),  that  it 
would  not  have  surprised  me  if  our  followers  had 
had  a  Jewish  type  of  countenance,  instead  of  a 
complete  absence  of  the  Semitic  features  which  are 
so  common  amongst  the  Arabs. 

The  Copts,  into  whose  quarters  we  are  intrud- 
ing, are  Egyptian  of  the  Egyptians.  Their  very 
name,  derived  from  the  Greek  "  Aiguptios  "  and 
contracted  into  the  Arabic  "  Kupt,"  helps  to  prove 
this. 

Of  all  the  dwellers  in  the  Nile  valley  these  are 
the  ones  which  appeal  most  to  our  sympathy,  and  it 
is  pleasant  to  think  that,  after  centuries  of  oppres- 
sion, they  can  enjoy  a  full  measure  of  freedom 
under  the  British  occupation  of  their  country. 

99  H  2 


CHAPTER    IX 
IN  THE  COPTS'  QUARTER 

BEFORE  we  enter  the  Coptic  church  of  St. 
George,  it  is  interesting  to  hark  back  to  the  days 
when  the  Copts  forswore  the  cult  of  Osiris  and 
were  received  into  the  fold  of  the  Christian  Church. 

As  far  back  as  A.D.  62  Armianus  was  appointed 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  and,  during  the  patriarchate 
of  Demetrius,  a  century  later,  Christian  com- 
munities which  are  associated  with  the  names 
of  Clement,  Origen,  and  Pantaenus  sprang  up  all 
over  the  Delta.  The  third  century  saw  the  rise  of 
the  monastic  system,  and  from  the  Delta  to  the 
confines  of  Nubia  the  ruins  of  early  monasteries 
show  how  rapidly  the  new  religion  took  hold  of 
the  people.  Besides  these  ruined  convents  there  is 
hardly  a  temple  that  does  not  bear  witness  to  the 
religious  zeal  of  these  early  Christians.  Far  distant 
from  Rome  as  they  were,  they  probably  suffered 
less  from  persecution  than  did  their  brethren  who 
were  nearer  the  seat  of  empire  ;  but,  at  this  period, 
quarrels  amongst  themselves  did  more  to  impede 

100 


IN  THE  COPTS'  QUARTER 

their  religion  than  the  persecutions  of  any  Roman 
emperor.  The  teachings  of  Arius,  a  presbyter  of 
Alexandria,  influenced  the  majority  in  spite  of  the 
exhortations  of  their  Bishop  Alexander  and  the 
eloquence  of  his  deacon  Athanasius.  At  the 
Council  of  Nice  in  325,  which  the  latter  attended, 
Arianism  was  condemned,  and  Christians  in  Egypt 
were  ranged  in  two  hostile  camps.  We  do  not 
know  whether  this  controversy  was  of  much 
interest  to  Constantine  personally,  but  his  son 
Constantius,  who  succeeded  him,  threw  in  his  lot 
with  the  Arians.  Athanasius  was  deposed  and 
exiled,  and  his  followers  were  persecuted  by  the 
Arians,  but  an  Edict  of  Theodosius  in  379  declared 
the  Orthodox  Church  to  be  the  State  religion  of 
Egypt  ;  and  the  Arians  again  suffered  their  turn  of 
persecution.  A  national  church  now  rose  side  by 
side  with  the  State  church,  and  after  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon  in  45 1  the  former  fell  away  entirely 
from  the  latter.  The  nationalists,  who  were  the 
larger  party,  were  known  as  Jacobites,  or  Copts, 
and  the  orthodox  were  known  in  Egypt  as  -the 
Melekites.  By  the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Egypt 
by  Amr,  the  Caliph  Omar's  great:  general,  the 
Copts  were  ready  to  throw  in  their  lot  with  any 
one  who  might  free  them  from  the  tyranny  of  their 
Byzantine  governors.  We  shall  have  more  to  say 
of  Amr  presently. 

101 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

There  is  nothing  in  the  exterior  of  the  church 
of  St.  George  to  suggest  the  richness  of  its  interior 
decoration,  and  this  applies  to  the  six  other 
churches  hidden  away  in  this  fortress.  To  escape 
notice,  and  to  avoid  any  display  that  might  awaken 
the  cupidity  of  their  neighbours,  is  the  explanation 
given  by  some  for  this  simple  exterior,  but  as  the 
exteriors  of  the  earliest  mosques  were  equally  plain, 
there  is  nothing  peculiar  in  this  feature.  With  the 
exception  of  the  crypt,  which  dates  previous  to  the 
Moslem  conquest,  this  church  was  built  not  long 
after  Ibn-Tulun  had  completed  his  great  mosque, 
and  nothing  could  be  plainer  than  the  outside  of 
the  latter.  The  person  who  unbolts  the  massive 
door  takes  care  to  shut  out  the  rest  of  our  followers, 
for  it  is  just  as  well  not  to  share  the  baksheesh  with 
too  many.  We  cross  a  small  vestibule,  which 
screens  the  interior  from  the  outside  should  the 
door  happen  to  be  open,  and  enter  a  beautiful  little 
basilica,  two  rows  of  arches  separate  the  aisles  from 
the  nave,  which  appears  short  to  our  eyes,  for  a 
handsome  wooden  screen  divides  the  church  in 
two  at  some  distance  from  the  sanctuary.  The 
dim  light  from  the  small  triforium  windows  is 
caught  by  a  row  of  saints  above  the  screen  ;  it  is 
reflected  here  and  there  on  the  gold  halo  of  an 
ikon,  and  flickers  down  the  carved  woodwork. 
During  the  services  the  women  must  keep  to  the 

102 


A  COPTIC  CHURCH  NEAR  ABYDOS 


IN  THE  COPTS'  QUARTER 

rear  side  of  this  screen  ;  the  further  side  being 
reserved  for  the  men. 

Leaving  the  nave  and  passing  into  what  corre- 
sponds to  a  choir  we  face  three  altars,  each  standing 
in  a  circular  apse  and  surmounted  by  a  dome. 
Screens  again  hide  these  altars,  and  that  which 
veils  the  high  altar  is  more  delicate  in  design  and 
richer  in  material  than  any  other  ;  its  lattice  work 
is  formed  of  little  crosses  carved  in  ebony  and 
ivory.  During  the  celebration  of  the  Mass  these 
doors  are  opened  and  the  curtain  is  withdrawn,  and 
a  large  image  of  Christ  is  seen  above  the  altar.  The 
coloured  ostrich  eggs  which  hang  from  the  ceiling 
form  a  curious  decoration.  These  are  occasionally 
seen  in  mosques,  and  are  also  used  to  adorn  the 
chapel  of  St.  Helena  in  the  church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem. 

A  flight  of  steps  in  the  choir  lead  down  to  the 
crypt,  in  which  we  are  shown  a  seat  upon  which 
the  Holy  Family  rested  on  their  journey  to  Egypt. 
There  was  some  difficulty  in  getting  permission  to 
sketch  in  any  of  these  Coptic  churches,  and  it  was 
not  until  I  was  staying  at  the  excavators'  camp  at 
Abydos  that  I  was  able  to  do  so. 

A  small  Christian  colony  inhabits  an  early 
dynasty  fort  in  the  desert  west  of  the  temple  of 
Seti,  which  is  known  as  the  Coptic  convent. 
Baedeker  contemptuously  dismisses  it  as  unworthy 

103 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

of  a  visit.  The  relation  which  that  church  bears 
to  the  one  we  are  now  in,  is  much  the  same  as  that 
of  a  picturesque  old  country  parish  church  to  an 
elaborate  cathedral,  but  I  found  it  worthy  of  a 
good  many  visits,  even  with  the  thermometer  at  a 
hundred  in  the  shade.  When  inside  the  old  fort 
there  was  much  to  recall  the  aspect  of  the  interior 
of  the  fortress  of  Babylon  ;  some  fowls  scratching 
about  a  midden  and  a  few  cattle  sheds  imparted  a 
flavour  of  the  country  that  is  absent  here,  but  the 
same  stillness,  the  same  almost  windowless  houses  are 
common  to  both  places.  The  kindly  old  priest 
who  showed  me  round  seemed  so  much  a  part  of 
the  basilica  that  I  found  it  hard  to  realise  that  I 
was  talking  to  a  contemporary.  His  dress  and 
surroundings  all  savoured  so  much  of  the  middle 
ages  that  I  felt  as  though  I  had  slept  and  wakened 
up  six  centuries  earlier.  The  fort  inside  which 
this  church  and  cluster  of  houses  stand  belongs  to 
the  early  empire  ;  it  stood  there  3,000  years  before 
the  convent  was  built,  but  as  there  were  no  signs 
of  human  activity  visible  to  mark  the  centuries, 
time  seemed  stationary.  The  priest  interested  me 
as  much  as  his  surroundings  ;  the  little  world  in 
which  he  and  his  family  live  is  all  sufficient  to 
supply  their  needs,  and  an  occasional  journey  to 
Balliana,  the  town  on  the  Nile  bank  ten  miles 
away,  brings  him  sufficiently  in  touch  with  the 

104 


IN  THE  COPTS'  QUARTER 

doings  of  the  outside  world  to  enable  him  to  appre- 
ciate the  peaceful  happiness  of  his  remote  village. 
"Salam  Alekum !"  both  to  the  padre  and  to  his  flock. 

If  time  allows  it  is  well  worth  while  to  visit  all 
the  six  churches  in  Babylon.  The  name  given  by 
the  Greeks  to  the  Roman  fortress  is  a  puzzle  to 
archaeologists  ;  it  is  suggested  that  it  may  be  an 
imitation  of  one  of  the  names  given  to  the  eastern 
suburb  of  Memphis  which  stood  here  at  a  remote 
age  ;  but  this  seems  vague.  The  massive  towers 
and  bastions,  and  what  one  can  still  see  of  the 
walls,  is  all  that  visibly  remains  of  the  old  city  of 
Misr.  Old  Cairo,  or  Masr  el-Atika,  which  lies 
between  us  and  the  river,  dates  later  than  the 
thirteenth  century,  for,  till  then,  its  site  and  that 
of  the  modern  quarters  of  Cairo  was  all  under 
water. 

Most  of  Egypt  fell  an  easy  prey  to  Amr,  who, 
we  are  told,  invaded  it  with  only  4,000  troopers, 
and  the  Copts,  possibly  not  realising  that  the 
Moslems  had  come  to  stay,  were  glad  of  this  help 
to  free  them  from  the  tyranny  of  the  orthodox 
Byzantines.  The  taking  of  this  castle  was  another 
matter,  for  here  the  representatives  of  the  Empire 
were  supreme.  Amr  had  to  be  heavily  rein- 
forced, and  not  till  after  a  seven  months'  siege 
was  he  able  to  reduce  this  stronghold.  From 
April,  641,  when  this  fateful  event  took  place, 

105 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

Egypt  has  formed  a  part  of  the  Mohammedan 
world. 

But  the  Copts  soon  discovered  that  they  had 
merely  changed  masters  :  the  rule  of  the  Moslem 
was  possibly  gentler  than  that  of  their  fellow- 
Christians — the  slight  difference  of  whose  doctrines 
perhaps  few  could  understand — but,  cut  off  from 
the  support  of  the  mother  church,  there  remained 
but  little  earthly  help  for  them  to  look  to  when 
less  tolerant  rulers  succeeded  Amr.  Many  of  the 
weaker  brethren  must  have  safeguarded  their  lives 
and  property  by  embracing  the  dominant  faith, 
and  others  must  have  fallen  in  defending  the  creed 
of  their  fathers.  The  remnant  is  now  not  more 
than  a  tenth  of  the  population  of  Egypt  ;  but 
when  we  consider  how  the  Saracens  suffered  from 
the  repeated  crusades,  we  wonder  that  any  have 
been  able  to  survive  the  vengeance  of  Islam. 
Many  of  them  now  hold  high  positions  in  the 
Government,  and  their  business  aptitude  fits  them 
well  for  the  places  they  fill  in  most  of  the  public 
offices. 

On  leaving  the  "  Kasr  esh-Shema,"  as  the  Arabs 
term  this  fortress,  we  skirt  round  a  part  of  the 
walls  and  cross  the  rubbish  heaps  that  separate  us 
from  Amr's  mosque.  These  rubbish  heaps  are  all 
that  remain  of  Fostat,  the  first  town  the  Moslem 
invaders  built  in  Egypt  ;  still  less  is  visible  of  the 

1 06 


A  SHEYKH'S  TOMB  AT  CAIRO 


IN  THE  COPTS'  QUARTER 

earlier  Misr  which  surrounded  Babylon  and  lay  at 
the  edge  of  the  Nile  whose  waters  have  receded  to 
their  present  course. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  volume  to  give 
a  history  of  Egypt  during  the  middle  ages  ;  and  it 
would  be  presumptuous  to  attempt  what  has  been 
so  ably  done  of  late  by  Stanley  Lane  Poole  ;  but  as 
our  walk  now  appeals  more  to  any  archaeological 
tastes  we  may  have  than  to  our  aesthetic  ones,  a  few 
words  on  the  growth  and  extension  of  Cairo  may 
not  be  out  of  place. 

When  Amr  lay  siege  to  the  castle  which  we  are 
leaving  behind  us,  he  pitched  his  tent  on  the  spot 
where  his  mosque  now  stands,  and  a  pretty  story 
is  told  of  how  this  spot  became  especially  endeared 
to  him.  After  Babylon  had  surrendered,  Amr 
prepared  to  leave  for  Alexandria,  which  still  held 
out  for  the  Emperor  Heraclius,  and  soldiers  were 
sent  to  strike  his  tent.  A  dove  sitting  on  its  nest 
attracted  the  attention  of  these  men,  who  reported 
it  to  their  general.  Amr  ordered  that  the  bird 
should  not  be  disturbed,  and  the  tent  was  still 
found  standing  when  he  and  his  army  returned 
after  the  taking  of  Alexandria.  This  spot  was 
henceforth  considered  sacred,  and  Egypt's  first 
mosque  commemorates  this  simple  event. 

El-Fostat,  or  "  the  town  of  the  Tent,"  is  the 
nucleus  of  the  great  city  that  has  risen  north  of 

107 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

this  mosque.  The  waste  of  land  encumbered  with 
debris,  that  separates  Fostat  from  Cairo  as  we  know 
it,  was  formerly  occupied  by  a  faubourg  of  the 
original  town,  El-Askar,  or  "  the  cantonments," 
which  arose  after  the  Omayad  caliphs  were  super- 
seded by  the  Abbasids  in  750.  The  Governor  built 
his  palace  here,  and  it  soon  bore  the  same  relation 
to  Fostat  as  the  West-end  bears  to  the  city  of 
London.  Further  north  stretched  the  wards  allotted 
to  the  different  nationalities  that  formed  part  of  the 
Emir's  retinue.  It  was  when  Ibn-Tulun  came  to 
Egypt  to  govern  it  as  the  representative  of  the  first 
Turkish  caliph  in  868  that  these  wards  were  chosen 
as  the  site  for  his  government  house.  El-Askar 
stretched  to  the  hill  of  Yeshkur,  beyond  which  rise 
the  walls  of  the  present  capital,  enclosing  Tulun's 
mosque,  of  which  we  have  spoken.  Fostat  and 
El-Askar  lost  consequence  as  the  new  royal  suburb 
arose,  and  nothing  now  stands  of  either  to  testify 
to  their  importance  save  this  ruinous  mosque.  El 
Katai,  or  "the  wards,"  fared  little  better;  it  became 
a  town  the  splendour  of  which  Arab  historians  never 
tire  in  relating;  its  site  is  covered  with  houses 
of  a  much  more  recent  growth,  and  only  the 
deserted  mosque  that  bears  his  name  remains 
of  the  glorious  faubourg  which  Ibn  Tulun  built, 
and  that  his  son  Khumaruyeh  beautified.  The 
descriptions  of  the  palace,  the  "  Golden  House," 

108 


IN  THE  COPTS'  QUARTER 

the  "  summer  pavilion,"  or  "  dome  of  the  air," 
and  the  gardens  and  fountains,  probably  inspired 
the  writers  of  the  Arabian  Nights  more  than 
the  actual  surroundings  of  Haroun  al-Raschid, 
which  were  less  luxurious  than  those  of  his  suc- 
cessors. 

Though  Amr  built  the  first  mosque  in  Egypt, 
that  which  we  see  now  standing  has  probably  not 
a  square  foot  of  the  original  structure  in  it.  "  The 
Crown  of  Mosques,"  as  the  Arab  warriors  called 
the  first  place  of  worship  that  they  erected  in  their 
newly-conquered  country,  was  a  poor  looking  struc- 
ture compared  to  what  these  people  have  built  since 
they  assimilated  the  art  of  the  Copts  and  became 
largely  influenced  by  the  culture  of  their  Turkish 
rulers.  It  was  rebuilt  on  a  much  larger  scale  nearly 
two  centuries  later,  and  restored  in  1798  by  Murad 
Bey.  Most  of  what  we  now  see  is  therefore  of  the 
ninth  century  ;  so  it  may  still  claim  to  be  Cairo's 
oldest  mosque.  The  marble  columns  supporting 
the  huge  arcade  were  the  spoil  from  existing  or 
ruined  Christian  churches,  and  their  not  matching 
each  other  seemed  to  have  troubled  these  early 
builders  very  little  ;  a  little  shortening  of  one,  or 
lengthening  of  another,  made  them  suit  their 
purpose  ;  they  might,  however,  have  taken  a  little 
more  care,  and  have  placed  all  the  capitals  the 
right  way  up  ! 

109 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

Guides  will  point  out  the  column  in  front  of 
the  pulpit,  with  the  "  Kurbug "  of  the  prophet 
drawn  by  the  veins  in  the  grey  marble,  and  they 
will  tell  you  how  this  column  flew  through  the  air 
from  the  Kaaba  at  Mekka  to  help  Amr  in  building 
his  mosque.  They  are  somewhat  out  in  their 
chronology,  but  these  stories  are  interesting.  It 
is  prophesied  the  fall  of  Islam  will  coincide  with 
the  fall  of  this  mosque,  but  from  its  poor  state 
of  repair,  the  faithful  must  take  this  with  a  grain 
of  salt. 

There  is  not  much  to  detain  us  here.  The  vast 
court  with  the  fountain  in  the  centre  is  very  im- 
pressive, but  its  historical  associations  can  be  studied 
at  home  in  an  arm-chair. 

A  walk  or  donkey  ride  from  here  to  the  tombs 
of  the  Mamelukes  in  a  north-easterly  direction  is 
charming.  As  the  sun  sinks  in  the  west,  the  light 
catches  the  citadel  mosque,  which  looks  well  at  a 
distance,  also  the  Mokattam  hills,  with  the  little 
mosque  of  Giyushi  beyond.  A  pale,  broad  shadow 
slowly  creeps  across  the  foreground,  and  ugly  details 
are  lost  in  its  subduing  effect.  The  deepening 
colour  of  the  sun's  rays  turns  these  hills  from  gold 
to  orange,  until  they  are  finally  lost  in  a  roseate 
reflection  of  the  afterglow. 

The  Tombs  of  the  Mamelukes  are  less  in- 
teresting than  those  we  have  seen  of  the 

I  10 


AN  ARAB   DOORWAY 


IN  THE  COPTS'  QUARTER 

so-called  Caliphs,  but  a  walk  past  them  at  the 
approach  of  twilight  is  a  thing  to  be  long  re- 
membered. We  enter  the  town  at  the  Bab 
el-Karafeh  and  the  tramway  will  take  us  back 
to  the  Ezbekiyeh. 


1 1 1 


CHAPTER     X 
THE  PYRAMIDS 

THE  great  event  after  arriving  in  Cairo  is  the 
excursion  to  the  pyramids.  No  one  can  fail  to 
have  an  idea  of  their  appearance,  and  all  can  learn 
their  age  and  dimensions,  for  nothing  ever  raised 
by  human  energy  has  been  more  written  about. 
None,  however,  can  feel  the  awe  their  size  produces 
till  they  reach  the  plateau  on  which  the  mighty 
tomb  of  Cheops  stands.  One  is  gradually  worked 
up  to  this  feeling  from  the  moment  when  they 
first  come  into  sight  on  the  five  mile  road  from 
Gizeh.  At  first  they  appear  so  small  compared 
with  the  objects  in  the  near  foreground  ;  after  a 
mile  or  two  one  looks  again,  and  the  sense  of 
disappointment  which  the  first  glance  provoked 
has  hardly  lessened.  Their  size  increases  as  one  is 
driven  nearer,  but  not  to  the  extent  one  is  led  to 
expect.  Things  look  more  hopeful  as  the  carriage 
reaches  the  limits  of  the  cultivated  land,  and  upon 
arriving  at  the  higher  level,  where  one  alights  at 

I  12 


THE  PYRAMIDS 

the  edge  of  the  desert,  the  size  of  the  Great 
Pyramid  begins  to  take  hold  of  one.  This 
increases  at  an  abnormal  rate,  as  step  by  step  one 
ascends  the  plateau  on  which  it  stands,  where  a 
sense  of  hugeness  becomes  overwhelming.  The 
colour  helps  this  impression  ;  that  of  the  rock  and 
sand  on  which  the  pyramid  rests  is  carried  upward, 
and  blocks  out  most  of  the  sky,  till,  nearing  the 
zenith,  the  pale  gold  tells  out  boldly  against  the 
deep  blue. 

Would  that  one  could  be  allowed  to  enjoy 
these  novel  sensations  in  peace  !  But  the  Bedouin 
Arabs,  who  have  settled  here  so  long  that  they  have 
lost  their  nomadic  instincts,  are  not  disposed  to 
allow  their  prey  to  enjoy  quietly  what  they 
consider  their  property.  Should  it  be  out  of  the 
tourist  season,  each  one  looks  for  a  picking  from 
the  rare  stranger  ;  but  in  mid-winter,  when  the 
"  Sawarhine  "  flock  here  in  great  numbers,  one  may 
be  subjected  to  the  attentions  of  only  one  or  two  of 
these  pests.  One  has  read  up  all,  and  much  more, 
than  they  can  tell  one  in  their  broken  English,  and,  at 
moments  when  one's  own  thoughts  and  impressions 
are  quite  sufficing,  uninvited  information  is  very 
exasperating.  They  are  handsome,  picturesque 
looking  fellows,  and  if  they  left  one  alone  their 
presence  might  be  acceptable,  as  they  harmonise 
with  the  surroundings,  and  help  to  scale  the  size  of 

113  i 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

what  one  has  come  to  see.  They  seem  not  to 
resent  being  told  to  go  away,  long  usage  has 
accustomed  them  to  that  ;  but,  go  where  you  will, 
they  will  follow  you  about  until  every  sense  but 
one  of  irritation  has  left  one.  Some  attempt  has 
recently  been  made  to  lessen  this  nuisance,  but  it 
has  been  a  great  failure,  as  far  as  my  own  personal 
experience  has  gone.  Possibly  in  the  full  season  they 
may  be  kept  more  in  check  now  than  formerly. 

To  enjoy  the  pyramids  the  full  season  is  the 
time  of  the  year  to  avoid,  if  it  is  possible.  Tourists 
disputing  with  extortionate  camel  drivers  or 
donkey  boys,  bargaining  for  sham  scarabs,  standing 
in  parties  to  be  photographed,  or  preparing  their 
lunch,  might  all  be  very  entertaining  if  watched 
from  a  hotel  terrace  in  Cairo,  but  this  is  not 
what  one  has  come  here  to  see.  Before  or  after 
the  season  one  is  spared  these  irrelevancies,  but  the 
control  of  the  Bedouin  is  at  all  times  very  much 
relaxed.  I  have  been  informed  of  the  share  which 
the  police,  who  are  stationed  there  to  keep  order,  get 
in  order  that  they  should  not  interfere  with  these 
pests  when  on  their  hunt  for  baksheesh.  I  have 
often  heard  these  creatures  defended,  as  not  being 
so  bad  as  they  are  made  out  to  be,  but  this 
advocacy  is  generally  from  the  fair  sex  ;  and  it  is 
possible  that  were  these  fine-looking  fellows 
replaced  by  equally  good-looking  women,  the  men 

114 


THE  PYRAMIDS 

might  not  condemn  them  so  sweepingly.  To  buy 
up  the  village  where  these  people  live,  and  to 
transplant  the  population  elsewhere  has  been 
suggested  as  the  only  efficacious  remedy.  How- 
ever, the  Antiquities  Department,  which  would  be 
expected  to  do  this,  has  not  enough  income  to 
carry  out  its  present  work,  and  it  certainly  could 
not  spare  the  money  to  execute  this  reform. 
Egypt  is  well  policed,  and  it  should  be  the  duty  of 
the  police  to  stop  this  nuisance.  The  visitors, 
who  are  the  ones  to  suffer,  stay  too  short  a  while 
in  the  country  to  agitate  in  the  matter,  but  the 
foreign  residents  in  Cairo  could  do  so ;  unfortunately 
they  suffer  less  persecution,  as  their  knowledge  of 
Arabic  distinguishes  them  from  the  "Sawarhine"; 
they  therefore  do  not  trouble  about  the  matter. 

This  is  a  long  digression,  but  this  nuisance  is 
now  so  much  a  part  of  a  visit  to  the  pyramids  that 
it  is  difficult  not  to  allude  to  it.  By  simulating 
deafness  you  may  succeed  in  stopping  the  chatter  of 
your  followers,  but  to  shake  them  off  is  not 
possible. 

A  stroll  along  the  base  of  Cheop's  great  tomb 
helps  one  to  realise  its  size.  You  walk  a  distance 
of  260  yards  before  reaching  the  angle,  then  look 
along  the  next  face,  and  the  same  length  is  before 
you  ;  and,  should  you  feel  inclined  to  walk  round 
the  four  sides,  you  will  have  covered  a  distance 

115  12 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

of  just  under  three-quarters  of  a  mile.  Thirteen 
acres  does  this  base  cover  :  something  more  than 
the  whole  square  of  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields. 

The  great  blocks  of  stone  that  are  superimposed 
in  receding  layers,  and  which  appeared  like  bricks 
from  the  road,  contain  forty  cubic  feet,  and, 
according  to  the  calculations  of  Professor  Flinders 
Petrie,  2,300,000  of  these  blocks  were  required  to 
construct  this  pyramid.  Imagination  fails  to 
stretch  back  sixty  centuries  to  the  time  of  its 
raising.  Stonework  weathers  very  little  in  the 
desert,  therefore  the  colour  does  not  help  you.  It 
is  true  that  what  we  see  has  only  been  exposed  to 
the  elements  for  five  centuries,  when  the  outer 
casing  was  taken  to  be  utilised  for  building 
material  in  Cairo,  about  the  time  that  Hasan's 
mosque  was  erected.  It  is  only  a  wonder  that 
such  a  convenient  quarry,  with  ready-faced  stones, 
had  not  been  worked  even  earlier. 

The  waste  of  human  energy  in  raising  such  a 
tomb  is  appalling.  Professor  Flinders  Petrie,  in 
defending  this,  states  that  the  workmen  were  only 
put  on  during  the  high  Nile,  when  their  agricultural 
pursuits  would  of  necessity  be  stopped  :  but  the 
time  of  the  flood  is  the  most  trying  time  of  the 
year,  and  it  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  the  native 
does  not  feel  the  heat.  The  "  fellah,"  who  has 
changed  very  little  physically  during  these  sixty 

116 


THE  PYRAMIDS 

centuries,  and  is  naturally  a  hard  worker,  slacks  off 
a  good  deal  when  the  excessive  heat  sets  in.  We 
remember  that  the  labourers  in  the  vineyard  who  had 
"borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day"  appear  not  to 
have  liked  it,  though  the  heat  of  the  day  in  Palestine 
is  not  nearly  so  oppressive  as  it  is  during  the  late 
summer  in  Egypt.  Herodotus  relates  that,  to  build 
this  pyramid,  the  labour  of  one  hundred  thousand 
men  was  required  during  a  space  of  twenty  years, 
and  Flinders  Petrie  does  not  consider  that  this  is 
an  over  estimate.  To  feed  and  discipline  such  an 
army  of  workmen  shows  a  wonderful  power  of 
organisation  ;  while  the  work  of  quarrying  these 
stones  in  the  Mokattam  Hills,  ten  miles  away, 
bringing  them  here  and  adjusting  them  with  such 
marvellous  precision  proves  a  high  state  of  civilisa- 
tion, which  is  hard  to  reconcile  with  the  senseless- 
ness of  this  unproductive  undertaking. 

I  am  told  that  the  contractor  for  the  Assuan 
dam  amused  himself,  while  staying  at  Mena  House, 
in  making  out  an  estimate  of  what  it  would  cost 
him,  with  the  present-day  machinery  at  his 
disposal,  to  build  the  Great  Pyramid.  This  worked 
out  at  six  millions.  Also  it  would  be  interesting 
to  know  what  it  would  work  out  at,  if  only  the 
appliances  of  the  fourth  Dynasty  were  used. 

We  have  spoken  so  far  of  only  one  pyramid,  but 
you  will  find  that,  though  the  second  one  of 

117 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

Khephren  is  nearly  as  important,  and  that  besides 
the  three  principal  ones  there  are  six  smaller  ones, 
this  one  will  have  exhausted  all  your  resources  of  awe 
and  wonderment.  Of  the  "  seven  wonders  of  the 
world  "  this  group  of  pyramids  is  the  greatest  and 
the  oldest,  and  the  only  one  of  the  number  that  we 
are  still  privileged  to  see. 

We  descend  the  shelving  plateau  a  little  to  the 
south  and  hurry  on  to  view  the  further  side  of  a 
great  mass  of  stone  before  us,  where  a  colossal  pair 
of  shoulders,  surmounted  by  a  wig,  rises  up  against 
the  sky  as  we  get  lower  into  the  surrounding  hollow. 
We  skirt  along  the  edge  of  this  little  valley  and 
turn  round,  and  the  huge  head  of  the  Sphinx  stands 
out  sharply  against  the  wonderful  blue  of  the  sky. 

Nose  and  part  of  the  upper  lip  are  gone,  and 
also  the  beard.  The  general  outline  of  the 
shoulders  remains,  but  no  detail  is  seen  in  the  mass 
that  supports  the  head  but  the  stratifications  of  the 
rock  out  of  which  this  titanic  bust  was  hewn.  A 
broken  stone  causeway  proceeds  from  the  right  of 
this  mass,  and  if  we  stand  at  a  proper  distance  to 
take  in  the  whole,  we  can  distinguish  the  outline 
of  a  forearm  and  the  outstretched  fingers  of  a  hand. 
The  battered  features  of  this  colossus  rivet  our  at- 
tention, if  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  be  spared  the 
chatter  of  the  pyramid  pests.  The  drawing  of  the 
lips  and  eyes  are  still  sufficiently  clearly  defined  to 

118 


THE  SPHINX  AND  PYRAMIDS  OF  G1/,EH 


THE  PYRAMIDS 

render  that  imperturbable  expression  which  Egypt's 
greatest  artists  could  give  to  the  presentments  of 
their  gods  and  their  Pharaohs.  Who  this  Pharaoh 
was  is  still  a  point  that  Egyptologists  differ  about. 
The  sculptor  who  hewed  the  features  out  of  this 
rock  doubtless  sought  more  to  present  an  embodi- 
ment of  kingship  than  an  exact  likeness  of  the 
Pharaoh  who  set  him  his  task. 

In  spite  of  any  prejudice  which  we  may  have  to 
an  organised  outing  with  the  moon  thrown  in  as 
a  theatrical  property,  it  is  advisable  to  take  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  Sphinx  by  the  light  of 
the  full  moon.  It  is  ten  years  since  the  writer  saw 
it  under  those  conditions,  but  it  was  so  impressive 
a  sight  that  he  yet  hopes  to  be  able  to  record  it 
from  recollection. 

No  one  can  have  spent  much  time  within  sketch- 
ing distance  of  the  Sphinx  without  being  struck 
by  the  ever-recurring  remarks  of  the  numerous 
people  who  come  to  see  it.  One  question  that  I 
have  heard  asked  in  many  languages  sticks  to  my 
memory  more  than  any  other, — "  What  is  he  think- 
ing about  ?  "  The  answer  by  an  Irish  priest  to 
whom  I  heard  this  query  addressed  is  worth 
recording  :  "  He  is  thinking  how  much  butter 
might  be  churned  out  of  the  milk  of  human  kind- 
ness." It  was  spoken  with  a  certain  tone  of  con- 
viction that  silenced  laughter,  and  the  rest  of  the 

119 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

party  forbore  to  try  and  solve  the  riddle  of  the 
Sphinx  until  the  good  padre  had  left  them.  A 
powerful  effort  not  to  yell  with  laughter  was  re- 
quired on  another  occasion.  This  delightful  old 
priest  had  designed  a  treat  for  some  members  of 
his  flock  in  Old  Ireland,  and  this  was  to  send  them 
a  photograph  of  himself,  dressed  as  an  Arab  Sheykh, 
sitting  on  the  hump  of  a  camel,  gazing  away  to 
the  far  horizon,  with  the  Sphinx  and  the  pyramids 
looming  up  in  the  background.  His  shaven  jowl 
looked  comical  enough  under  the  turban,  and  the 
thin,  pale  extremities  visible  beneath  the  folds  of 
the  "  burnous  "  reminded  me  of  the  cockneys  that 
one  may  see  paddling  on  Margate  sands  on  a  bank 
holiday.  However,  he  seemed  pleased,  and  no  doubt 
his  flock  in  Ireland  would  be  pleased  also ;  all  might 
have  been  well  but  that  there  remained  the  camel  to 
reckon  with.  The  beast  did  not  seem  inclined  to  rise 
upon  its  legs  and  needed  a  good  deal  of  persuasion  ; 
the  peculiar  growl  they  give  when  they  fight  shy 
of  their  burden  seemed  on  this  occasion  to  suggest 
that  he  did  not  see  the  joke.  Donkey  boys,  who 
are  ever  ready  to  use  their  sticks,  now  assisted  the 
drivers,  and  in  response  to  their  protests,  the  hind 
quarters  of  the  ungainly  brute  rose  suddenly,  jerking 
the  Irishman  forward,  then  up  went  its  neck,  before 
our  friend  had  righted  himself,  causing  the  heads  of 
the  ridden  and  the  rider  to  come  into  violent  con- 

120 


THE  PYRAMIDS 

tact,  and  a  bleeding  nose  and  a  rapidly  swelling  eye 
showed  that  the  poor  priest  was  a  good  deal  hurt. 
It  is  fortunate  that  his  flock  did  not  hear  his  powerful 
language  ;  but,  addressed  as  it  was  to  a  camel  un- 
accustomed to  the  Hibernian  accent,  the  words  fell 
on  deaf  ears,  and  the  brute's  expression  was  as  im- 
movable as  that  of  the  Sphinx.  I  was  not  privileged 
to  see  the  photograph,  and  though  I  saw  a  good 
deal  of  the  padre  afterwards,  and  can  remember 
that  eye  going  through  all  the  colours  of  my 
palette,  we  somehow  avoided  the  subject  of  Arab 
Sheykhs  and  camels,  and  only  touched  lightly  on 
photography. 

The  excursion  from  the  Gizeh  pyramids  to 
Sakkara  is  a  delightful  one  if  the  previous  night 
has  been  spent  at  the  Mena  House  Hotel;  but  to 
attempt  to  combine  the  two  expeditions  in  one  day, 
starting  from  Cairo,  is  to  crowd  more  sights  into  a 
short  space  of  time  than  the  mind  can  appreciate. 

The  hire  of  camels  can  be  arranged  for  at  the 
hotel,  also  the  provisions  for  a  long  day's  excursion. 
However  much  one  resents  the  existence  of  moder- 
nity in  the  vicinity  of  these  grand  old  monuments, 
one  speedily  forgives  that  of  the  Mena  House 
Hotel.  Few  more  delightful  places  to  stay  at  exist. 
Away  from  the  noise  and  the  smells  of  Cairo, 
yet  near  enough  to  be  able  to  spend  a  day  in  the 
town  ;  the  large  terrace  where  one  can  sit  sheltered 

121 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

from  cold  winds,  or  shaded  from  the  sun  if  it  is 
too  hot  ;  the  unique  outlook,  and  always  that  ex- 
hilarating dry  air,  combine  to  make  one  look  back 
on  a  sojourn  there  as  one  of  the  happiest  memories 
of  a  lifetime. 

As  the  crow  flies,  Sakkara  is  twenty  miles  from 
Mena  House,  but  a  few  more  may  be  allowed  for 
the  camel's  more  tortuous  flight.  Skirting  the 
margin  of  the  desert  for  an  hour  or  more  we  pass 
the  pyramids  of  Zawiyet  on  our  right,  and,  con- 
tinuing our  course  for  a  similar  time,  we  reach  a 
whole  cluster  of  pyramids,  but,  made  blase  by  our 
acquaintance  with  those  of  Cheops  and  Khephren, 
we  pass  these  smaller  and  rather  dilapidated  struc- 
tures with  an  indulgent  smile.  The  character  of 
the  landscape  on  our  right  is  as  distinct  from  that 
on  our  left  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive  :  the  glare 
of  the  great  desert  which  we  are  skirting  is  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  vivid  green  that  covers  the 
plain  just  below  us.  The  colour  is  broken  here  and 
there  by  villages  and  palm  groves,  and  a  grey  line 
marks  the  connecting  causeways.  The  Nile,  which 
courses  through  this  verdant  plain  some  five  miles 
to  the  east,  is  bordered  on  the  further  side  by  only 
a  narrow  strip  of  green  which  is  slightly  greyed 
by  the  moisture  rising  from  the  valley.  The  hills 
of  the  Arabian  desert,  far  grander  in  outline  than 
those  which  curtail  our  view  of  the  great  Sahara, 

122 


A  BEDAWI  TENT 


THE  PYRAMIDS 

form  a  lovely  background.  Egypt  is  indeed  "  the 
gift  of  the  river  "  ! 

An  entirely  different  race  people  this  area.  The 
fellah  is  as  unlike  the  Bedawi  as  we  are  to  either. 
The  Beduin,  who  have  made  their  home  round  the 
pyramids  for  many  generations,  are  despised  by 
their  nomadic  kin,  and  though  retaining  the  features 
and  garb  of  the  latter  they  have  lost  the  qualities 
that  make  these  people  so  interesting. 

We  soon  come  in  sight  of  the  village  of  Mit 
Rahineh,  which  stands  on  the  site  of  Memphis,  and 
of  the  causeway  connecting  it  with  Sakkara — 
Sakkara,  which  has  given  its  name  to  the  necropolis 
of  the  ancient  capital. 

Pitfalls  in  the  sand,  silent  witnesses  of  the  dese- 
cration of  the  dead,  oblige  us  to  pick  our  way  more 
carefully,  and  the  dark  mouths  of  rock-cut  tombs 
in  the  low-lying  cliffs  make  us  aware  that  we  are 
entering  a  vast  burial-ground.  Potsherds  and  other 
debris  of  the  rifled  graves  are  strewn  about  every- 
where, but  the  brilliancy  of  the  light  and  the 
brightness  of  the  dry,  sandy  soil  prevent  the  grue- 
some feelings  one  would  experience  on  entering  a 
plundered  cemetery  in  Europe.  The  "step  pyramid" 
dominates  the  scene,  and  around  it  are  clustered  a 
number  of  smaller  ones. 

After  lunch  at  Mariette's  House  we  are  taken  to 
the  Serapeum.  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this 

123 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

book  to  enlarge  on  the  archaeological  interest  of 
these  world-famed  monuments.  The  name  of 
Steindorff  at  the  head  of  the  historical  notice  in 
your  Baedeker  is  sufficient  guarantee  that  these 
interests  have  been  well  looked  after. 

How  Mariette  was  led  to  discover  these  Apis 
tombs,  from  a  passage  in  Strabo,  is  given  by 
Amelia  B.  Edwards  in  her  Thousand  Miles  Up  the 
Nile.  This  author's  impressions  of  her  visit  to 
Sakkara  leave  little  to  be  said  by  the  writer  of 
this  volume,  whose  recollections  of  a  walk  through 
the  dimly  lighted  vaults  containing  the  sarcophagi 
of  the  sacred  bulls  are  all  subordinate  to  the 
remembrance  of  feeling  nearly  stifled  and  of 
longing  to  regain  the  fresh  air  outside. 

The  tomb  of  Tyi,  which  marks  the  first  great 
epoch  of  pictorial  art,  enters  more  within  the 
range  of  this  volume.  The  low  reliefs  that  cover 
the  walls  of  this  fifth-dynasty  sepulchre  bear  much 
the  same  relation  to  the  maturer  art  of  the 
eighteenth  dynasty  as  that  of  Cimabue  or  even 
Giotto  does  to  that  of  Raphael.  But  whereas,  in 
the  latter  case,  these  periods  are  separated  by  only  a 
century  and  a  half,  and  we  can  trace  a  continuous 
growth,  twelve  centuries  and  more  intervene  in 
the  former.  Neither  is  the  development  so  con- 
tinuous in  Egyptian  art.  After  reaching  this  high 
level  in  the  fifth  dynasty  it  sinks  and  almost  dis- 

124 


THE  PYRAMIDS 

appears  during  the  following  ones  ;  it  rises  again 
towards  the  eleventh,  but  seems  to  be  entirely  lost 
during  the  dark  ages  of  the  Hyksos.  However, 
the  art  of  this  wonderful  race  appears  to  be  in- 
extinguishable ;  for  no  sooner  have  the  Thothmes 
cleared  the  country  of  the  alien  rulers,  than  it  rises 
once  more  to  the  height  of  what  we  are  now 
admiring,  and  surpasses  it  before  Ramses  II. 
makes  it  subservient  to  his  own  personal 
glorification. 

Here,  as  in  the  work  at  Der  el-Bahri,  the  fine 
quality  of  the  limestone  allows  of  most  delicate 
cutting,  and  the  figures  in  both  cases  are  firmly 
outlined,  but  are  very  slightly  relieved  from  the 
background.  Being  highly  coloured  a  high  relief 
would  have  been  superfluous.  In  spite  of  the  long 
lapse  of  time  much  of  the  convention  of  this  early 
work  is  still  visible  in  Hatshepsu's  temple  at  Der  el- 
Bahri,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  art  of  the  latter  is 
a  development  of  these  mural  paintings  rather 
than  of  the  intermediate  work  of  the  eleventh 
dynasty. 

Later  on  we  shall  have  more  to  say  of  the 
eighteenth  dynasty  work,  which,  though  more 
subtle,  surprises  one  less  than  these  Tyi  reliefs, 
which  are  the  first  manifestations  of  a  living  art 
following  a  rude  convention.  A  study  of  these 
tombs  of  Sakkara  helps  one  to  appreciate  the 

125 


BELOW    THE   CATARACTS 

unique  collections  in  the  Cairo  Museum,  as  this 
necropolis  has  supplied  it  with  so  many  of  its  finest 
works. 

The  ride  to  Bedrashen,  where  we  take  the  train 
to  Cairo,  leads  us  past  the  heaps  of  rubbish  that 
mark  the  site  of  Memphis,  and  the  two  colossal 
statues  of  Ramses  II.  The  villages  we  pass,  with 
the  pylon-shaped  columbaria  and  backing  of 
palm  groves,  are  slightly  raised  above  the  level  of 
the  plain,  looking  from  a  distance  like  islands  on 
a  very  emerald  sea.  At  the  high  Nile  they  are 
islands  in  more  than  appearance,  and  there  is  no 
mistaking  how  far  the  fertilising  waters  then 
extend.  The  flocks  and  herds  driven  in  from 
their  pasturage,  and  the  many  rustic  scenes  we 
witness,  recall  the  wall  paintings  in  Tyi's  tomb, 
for  which  these  might  have  served  as  models  four 
millenniums  and  a  half  ago.  Interesting  as  the 
landscape  is  at  present,  it  is  far  more  paintable 
when  these  green  fields  have  turned  to  gold  and 
the  harvesting  has  begun.  Improved  agricultural 
implements  are  not  much  in  evidence,  and  the 
work  of  the  fellah  now  is  carried  on  in  much  the 
same  way  as  in  pharaonic  times. 

The  women,  returning  from  the  river  carrying 
pitchers  on  their  heads,  are  clothed  in  much  the 
same  way  as  their  sisters  in  the  towns,  but  their 
faces  are  unveiled.  The  more  arduous  work  they 

126 


AAHMES,  MOTHER  OF  HATSHEPSU,  IN   THE  TEMPLE 
AT  DER  EL-BAHRI 


THE  PYRAMIDS 

do  would  make  the  yashmak  quite  unbearable,  but 
they  turn  away  their  eyes  from  the  "  Firangi,"  or 
will  draw  the  loose  veil  that  hangs  from  their 
heads  across  their  faces — an  intimation  that  their 
barefacedness  is  a  necessity  which  the  "  Firangi " 
would  do  well  to  respect. 

The  view  from  the  train,  over  the  fifteen  miles 
that  take  us  back  to  Cairo,  is  at  its  best  now  ; 
the  evening  light  catches  Gebel  Turra  beyond 
Helwan  on  the  further  side  of  the  Nile,  and  deli- 
cate violet  shadows  in  a  golden  mass  of  colour  give 
the  drawing  of  the  rock  strata.  The  villages  on 
our  left  are  silhouetted  against  the  shades  of  the 
Libyan  desert  and  the  palm  groves  stand  out  in 
bold  masses  against  the  sunset  sky.  As  we  near 
Cairo  the  line  runs  for  a  while  near  the  river's 
edge  ;  the  light  now  turning  to  pink  catches  the 
sails  of  the  "  gyassas  "  and  is  repeated  in  a  lower 
tone  on  the  Mokattam  hills  in  the  distance.  Near 
Gizeh  the  twilight  lends  a  mystery  to  the  groups 
of  figures  on  the  Nile  bank  and  the  sails  of  the 
boats,  until,  grey  against  the  afterglow  reflected  on 
the  hills,  the  little  town  itself,  which  is  not  parti- 
cularly interesting  in  broad  daylight,  suggests  all 
sorts  of  possibilities  in  the  increasing  darkness.  In 
due  course  we  reach  gaslit  Cairo,  feeling  grateful 
for  the  beautiful  evening  that  has  ended  so  inte- 
resting a  day. 

127 


CHAPTER  XI 

ALEXANDRIA  TO  CAIRO 

I  LEFT  Egypt  shortly  after  my  last  visit  to 
Sakkara,  and  during  the  eight  following  winters  I 
was  working  under  European  skies.  I  often  longed 
to  return  to  the  sunshine  and  dry  atmosphere  of 
the  Nile  valley  ;  and  while  shivering  at  my  work 
in  some  Italian  town,  or  seeking  shelter  from  the 
rain  in  England  or  France,  that  delightful  excursion 
to  Sakkara  would  return  to  my  mind.  A  com- 
mission to  make  a  series  of  water-colour  drawings 
of  Egypt  brought  these  longings  to  a  happy  issue. 
I  returned  via  Alexandria  after  a  sufficient  period 
had  elapsed  to  make  me  able  to  feel  something  of 
the  delight,  if  not  of  the  excitement,  that  a  first 
visit  gives. 

The  journey  to  Cairo  by  this  route  gives  one  a 
different  impression  of  the  country  than  the  one 
taken  via  Port  Said.  In  neither  of  the  ports  does 
one  get  that  foretaste  of  the  East  that  one  gets  on 

128 


CEMETERY  NEAR  ROSETTA 


ALEXANDRIA  TO  CAIRO 

landing  at  many  a  place  on  the  African  coast  which 
may  be  considerably  west  of  Greenwich.  Your 
map  proves  to  you  that  you  are  in  Egypt,  but  there 
is  little  in  either  town  to  make  you  realise  that 
"  Land  of  Egypt,"  associated  from  earliest  child- 
hood with  Pharaohs  (hard-hearted  or  otherwise) 
and  the  children  of  Israel.  Both  places  are  more 
suited  to  give  an  Egyptian  who  is  leaving  his 
country  a  foretaste  of  Europe.  It  is  on  the  two 
roads  to  Cairo  that  the  impressions  of  the  country 
are  of  so  different  a  nature. 

I  have  endeavoured  before  to  give  some  idea  of 
the  route  from  Port  Said  ;  it  may  be  of  interest  to 
follow  me  in  this  run  through  the  Delta  before  we 
can  proceed  to  Upper  Egypt. 

The  first  half-hour  takes  you  through  some 
prosperous-looking  suburbs,  built  at  considerable 
cost  with  a  minimum  amount  of  architectural 
taste.  The  want  of  shade,  and  possibly  the  wish 
to  hide  structural  deficiencies,  has  fortunately  in- 
duced the  occupiers  to  devote  a  good  deal  of  care 
to  their  gardens.  In  spite  of  the  hungry-looking 
soil,  beautiful  trees  and  flowering  shrubs  do  their 
best  to  screen  and  to  make  attractive  the  sorry 
sight  which  most  of  these  houses  are  when  they 
first  leave  the  builder's  hands. 

The  train  skirts  the  coast  for  a  few  miles,  and  no 
sooner  has  it  curved  round  the  northern  edge  of 

129  K 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

the  Lake  of  Maryut,  and  begun  to  cross  the  rich 
alluvial  soil  of  the  Delta,  than  the  whole  landscape 
is  changed.  Villadom  comes  to  an  abrupt  end  ;  the 
trowsered  oriental  with  his  '  tarboush '  gives  way 
to  the  robed  and  turbaned  fellah ;  the  motor-car 
can  go  no  further,  and  is  replaced  by  the  camel  or 
the  ass.  The  villages  that  are  dotted  all  over  the 
landscape,  as  is  the  case  on  very  productive  soils, 
must  look  much  the  same  now  as  they  looked  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  when  they  were  less  profit- 
ably engaged  than  at  present,  in  the  service  of  the 
Pharaohs.  The  houses  then,  as  now,  were  built 
of  mud  bricks,  and  covered  with  a  similar  thatch, 
or  roofed  with  transversely  laid  palm  trunks  with 
mud  trodden  into  the  interstices,  and  the  dome  may 
also  have  been  there,  as  we  find  that  form  of  roof- 
ing in  dynastic  times.  Each  successive  invader 
adapted  himself  to  what  he  found,  as  being  most 
suitable  to  the  soil  he  had  acquired,  and  though 
the  worship  of  Isis  gave  way  to  that  of  the  risen 
Christ,  and  Islam  has  since  held  sway,  the  appear- 
ance of  the  landscape  has  altered  less  in  four 
millenniums  than  that  of  an  English  county  has 
done  in  four  centuries.  No  dense  forests  had 
to  be  cleared,  as  with  us,  before  the  deep  alluvial 
deposits  which  form  the  Delta  brought  forth  corn. 
It  is  true  that  corn  is  not  the  main  crop  now,  but 
cotton  ;  but,  in  the  general  aspect  of  a  landscape, 

130 


ALEXANDRIA  TO  CAIRO 

a  crop  is  a  crop,  green  in  its  youth  and  mellow  in 
its  age. 

The  minaret  that  bespeaks  a  changed  faith  is 
seldom  seen,  which  is  accounted  for  by  the  dear- 
ness  of  all  building  material  except  mud.  A  square 
enclosure,  built  of  sun-dried  bricks  with  some  rude 
Arab  decoration  round  the  door,  serves  as  the  village 
mosque.  The  tops  of  the  chimneyless  houses  have 
their  flat  outline  broken  by  layers  of  produce 
placed  there  to  dry,  and  often  by  broken  pitchers, 
which  serve  as  nesting  places  for  doves.  The 
peasants  and  their  cattle  live  in  close  proximity, 
and  the  head  of  a  camel  may  be  seen  peering  out 
of  a  half-opened  door.  Increased  irrigation  has 
extended  the  area  of  cultivation,  and  much  marshy 
land  has  been  drained ;  but,  on  the  whole,  what 
now  meets  the  eye  of  the  tourist,  as  the  Cairo 
express  hurries  him  along  to  Shepheard's  or  the 
Savoy,  is  very  similar  to  what  met  that  of  Joseph 
when  he  went  his  rounds  in  Pharaoh's  service. 
To  the  east,  right  away  to  the  horizon,  stretches 
this  tract  of  rich  land,  where  the  villages  appear 
to  touch  each  other,  then  slowly  to  separate,  and 
become  blotted  out,  one  by  one,  by  a  nearer  clump 
of  palms.  The  squeal  of  a  "  sakiyeh  "  is  just  discern- 
ible above  the  rattle  of  the  train  ;  it  gets  louder  ; 
a  tableau  of  an  archaic  waterwheel  worked  by  a 
buffalo  glides  across  the  foreground  and,  before 

131  K  2 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

the  creaky  noise  has  died  away,  you  are  brought 
back  to  the  twentieth  century  by  an  oriental — 
Europeanised  up  to  his  neck — who  wants  to  clip 
your  ticket. 

So  far  we  have  no  sight  of  Father  Nile,  though 
signs  of  his  gifts  stretch  from  horizon  to  horizon  ; 
but  we  have  had  glimpses  of  the  Mahmudieh 
canal,  the  great  work  of  Mohammed  Ali,  which 
revived  the  prosperity  of  Alexandria  by  connecting 
that  city  with  the  great  waterway  of  Egypt,  and 
now  and  again  the  rich  colour  of  the  soil  has  been 
emphasised  by  the  reflection  of  the  sky  upon  one 
of  the  lesser  canals  that  vein  the  map  of  the  Delta. 
When  the  train  slows  down  to  halt  at  Kafr  ez- 
Zaiyat,  the  Rosetta  branch  of  the  Nile  is  before  us, 
and  as  we  cross  the  bridge  we  catch  sight  of  boats 
being  laden  with  the  products  of  this  rich  country, 
or  discharging  earthenware  pitchers  and  sugar-cane 
from  Upper  Egypt,  or  cases  and  machinery  bearing 
the  mark  of  some  English  firm.  A  group  of  cor- 
rugated iron  sheds  and  chimneys  recall  some  of  the 
ugliness  we  hoped  to  have  left  behind  us  when 
leaving  the  last  European  port,  but  the  glorious 
light  that  envelops  everything  prevents  even  these 
from  jarring  too  much  with  the  picturesqueness  of 
the  Nile  bank. 

A  short  run  from  here  and  we  reach  Tanta, 
a  flourishing  town  lying  midway  between  the  two 

132 


ON  THE  MAHMOUDIEH  CANAL 


ALEXANDRIA  TO  CAIRO 

arms  of  the  river,  which  has  separated  at  the  Barrage 
near  Cairo.  The  saint  Seyid  el-Bedawi  is  buried 
here  ;  his  shrine  is  not  worth  a  visit  for  its  archi- 
tectural beauty,  but  it  must  be  a  most  interesting 
sight  to  see  the  thousands  of  pilgrims,  from  every 
part  of  the  Mohammedan  world,  who  flock  here  on 
"  Molid " — the  day  of  his  birth.  This  unfortu- 
nately takes  place  in  August  ;  but,  in  spite  of  the 
heat,  the  writer  still  hopes  some  day  to  witness 
this  fair  and  view  the  half  million  of  pilgrims  that 
congregate  there  upon  that  anniversary. 

Leaving  Tanta  the  train  runs  through  the 
fattest  land  of  this  fertile  plain,  the  fatness  of 
which  is  evidenced  by  the  cotton-cleaning  mills, 
which  do  not  improve  the  landscape.  We  cross 
the  eastern  arm  of  the  Nile  on  reaching  Bulak, 
and  from  this  place  to  Cairo  we  traverse  the  same 
country  to  which  we  have  referred  in  an  earlier 
part  of  this  book. 

Perhaps  it  is  my  love  of  Egypt  and  things 
Egyptian  that  makes  me  dislike  Cairo,  or,  I  should 
say,  the  European  quarter  in  which  one  is  com- 
pelled to  live.  Leaving  Europe  when  the  chill  and 
frequent  rain  of  October  makes  one  thankful  to 
avoid  a  long  winter,  the  joy  of  being  once  more 
under  a  blue  sky,  with  the  prospect  of  months  of 
outdoor  work,  instead  of  the  confinement  to  a 
studio,  should  all  tend  to  prejudice  one  in  favour  of 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

this  city  ;  but,  unhappily,  the  Cairo  one  lives  in  is 
not  the  beautiful  old  town  one  has  come  to  paint. 
They  lie  side  by  side,  but  have  little  in  common 
save  the  sky  that  covers  them  both.  Accommodation 
is  not  to  be  had  in  the  old  quarters,  or  little  of  the 
new  would  ever  trouble  me.  The  people  have  as 
alien  an  appearance  as  the  houses  they  live  in  ;  to 
make  their  fortunes  as  rapidly  as  they  can  out  of 
the  natives  or  the  winter  visitors,  and  then  to  retire 
to  their  own  countries  is,  of  course,  the  raison  d'etre 
of  their  presence,  but  this  bit  of  modern  Europe 
harmonises  badly  with  its  neighbour,  the  picturesque 
mediaeval  city. 

Before  the  Hotel  du  Nil  closed  its  doors  it  was 
possible  to  live  in  the  midst  of  the  surroundings 
one  had  come  so  far  to  paint ;  but  the  artist  now 
must  live  in  the  modern  quarter,  and  the  spirit  of 
that  quarter  (to  make  all  one  can  and  as  quickly  as 
one  can)  is  very  liable  to  have  a  bad  effect  on  his 
art.  If  you  stop  at  a  modest  inn  where  few  of  the 
British  colony  would  deign  to  call,  it  is  irritating 
to  be  charged  much  the  same  as  at  a  first-rate  hotel 
on  the  Riviera ;  but  put  up  at  one  of  those  huge 
caravanserais  that  cater  for  la  haute  societe,  and 
you  are  charged  exorbitantly  for  the  privilege  of 
using  rooms  where  a  show  of  costliness  does  not 
console  you  for  the  poor  design  and  colour  of  the 
decoration  and  furniture.  Some  units  of  this  haute 

'34 


ALEXANDRIA  TO  CAIRO 

socitie  are  no  more  to  your  liking  than  the  preten- 
tious apartments,  and  visits  from  those  who  ignored 
your  existence  when  lodging  in  humbler  quarters 
can  easily  be  dispensed  with.  Most  of  one's  day 
is  spent  in  the  more  congenial  surroundings  of  the 
old  city ;  but  to  eat,  drink,  or  sleep,  one  must 
return  to  these  less  congenial  quarters.  One  recalls 
with  regret  the  simple  inns  in  Italy,  where,  if  the 
fare  was  modest,  the  reckoning  was  still  more  so, 
and  the  kindly  welcome  of  the  padrone  made  one 
forget  both. 

It  is  perhaps  unreasonable  to  expect  things  to  be 
different,  and  for  a  short  stay  it  does  not  matter, 
but  if  one  is  sojourning  for  some  time,  number 
so-and-so,  whose  spending  capacities  are  all  that 
interest  the  host,  is  liable  to  suffer  from  home  sick- 
ness. However,  during  the  last  two  years  I  have 
fortunately  been  able  to  do  my  work  in  more  con- 
genial surroundings.  The  dahabiyeh,  the  tent,  and 
the  excavator's  camp  have  been  all  much  more  to 
my  liking. 

Life  on  a  dahabiyeh,  as  the  house-boat  of  the 
Nile  is  called,  is  as  near  an  ideal  state  of  existence 
as  an  artist  can  find  on  this  earth.  There  are  but 
few  places  in  Egypt  that  cannot  be  reached  by 
these  boats  ;  and  to  have  a  home  on  board  one  of 
these,  with  sympathetic  companionship,  a  studio, 
and  a  dependable  climate,  near  a  chosen  sketching 

'35 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

ground,  gives  him  a  chance  of  doing  the  very  best 
that  he  is  capable  of. 

A  tent,  with  a  trusty  servant  to  fend  for  one's 
wants,  is  perhaps  the  next  best  thing,  and  is  within 
the  reach  of  a  larger  number,  but  there  is  some 
difficulty  in  finding  a  suitable  place  to  pitch  it. 
The  land  round  most  of  the  ancient  monuments 
has  been  acquired  by  the  Antiquities  Department, 
which  will  allow  no  stranger  to  camp  there.  As 
the  ground  is  for  the  most  part  desert,  this  may 
savour  of  the  dog  in  the  manger,  but  it  is  a 
necessary  restriction.  Before  this  ground  was 
acquired,  people  would  often  camp  within  easy 
reach  of  the  excavations,  and  the  temptations  to 
acquire  portable  antiquities,  which  belong  to  the 
Department,  were  often  too  strong  to  resist.  An 
Arab  offers  to  sell  some  scarabs  or  a  blue  glazed 
'  ushabti '  ;  the  question  the  visitor  usually  asks 
himself  is  whether  they  are  genuine  ;  he  does  not 
as  a  rule  concern  himself  as  to  whether  it  is  stolen 
property  or  not.  If  the  Arab  is  sure  that  the  new 
comer  is  in  no  way  connected  with  the  excavations, 
he  will  even  admit  the  theft,  as  a  proof  that  the 
objects  are  not  frauds.  It  is  sufficiently  difficult 
for  the  Department  to  check  the  thieving  of  the 
workmen  in  its  employ,  and  it  is  therefore  too 
much  to  expect  it  to  encourage  the  advent  of 
neighbours  who  so  readily  receive  these  goods. 

136 


ALEXANDRIA  TO  CAIRO 

This  necessary  restriction  is  hard  upon  those  whose 
only  object  is  to  camp  near  the  subjects  they  wish 
to  paint ;  but,  as  Professor  Maspero,  the  distin- 
guished head  of  the  Department,  explained  to  me, 
it  was  impossible  to  avoid  making  a  hard  and  fast 
rule,  and  that,  as  guardians  for  the  country  of  these 
treasures,  they  could  not  allow  anything  which 
might  endanger  their  safety.  Wherever  he  is  able  to 
assist  the  student  without  risk  to  his  trust,  he  is 
always  most  obliging,  and  the  Inspectors  of 
Antiquities,  who  have  the  guardianship  of  the  four 
districts  under  him,  are  equally  courteous  and  helpful 
to  anyone  seriously  wishing  to  study  or  to  paint 
any  of  the  monuments. 

It  so  happened  that  a  concession  was  granted  to 
the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  New  York  to  take 
impressions  of  a  portion  of  the  bas  reliefs  in 
Hatshepsu's  temple  at  Thebes.  The  casts  from 
these,  after  being  coloured  as  much  like  the 
original  wall  as  possible,  are  to  be  set  up  in  this 
museum,  which  will  give  the  New  Yorkers  an 
opportunity  of  studying  the  most  delightful  bit  of 
wall  decoration  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  Mr. 
Laffan,  who  is  generously  defraying  the  expense, 
deputed  Mr.  Currelly,  who  was  at  the  time  in 
charge  of  the  excavations,  to  see  the  work  carried 
out,  and  to  find  an  artist  to  do  the  colouring. 
This  work  was  offered  to  me,  and,  with  the  proviso 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

that  I  should  be  allowed  to  devote  half  my  days  to 
my  water  colours,  I  accepted  it. 

My  stay  in  Cairo  was  a  short  one  ;  for  being 
asked  by  Erskine  Nicol  to  stay  on  his  dahabiyeh, 
then  lying  at  Boulak,  I  was  only  a  couple  of  days 
at  an  hotel,  and  the  Mavis  formed  the  base  of  my 
operations  until  the  camp  at  Thebes  was  in  readiness 
for  the  winter's  work.  The  boat  was  undergoing 
some  repairs,  but  my  host,  a  brother  brush,  being 
as  little  in  sympathy  as  myself  with  la  haute 
societe  and  the  hotel  life  of  Cairo,  judged  that  I 
would  prefer  to  put  up  with  the  smell  of  paint  and 
the  inevitable  disorder  rather  than  stay  on  where  I 
was. 

Parts  of  Boulak  are  still  unspoilt,  and  the  fruit 
stalls  and  pot  market  are  as  delightful  as  they  ever 
were.  Whether  this  is  less  painted  than  other  parts 
of  the  town,  or  whether  the  inhabitants  suffer  from 
a  double  dose  of  original  curiosity,  I  cannot  say, 
but  a  more  inquisitive  lot  I  never  worked  amongst. 
My  faithful  Mohammed  was  unable  to  be  with 
me  or  possibly  I  might  have  been  less  bothered. 
A  word  from  him  to  a  policeman,  and  an  invented 
relationship  of  the  "  hawaga  "  to  some  powerful 
"  Moufetish,"  might  have  cleared  the  street  of  the 
curious  and  it  would  then  only  have  been  necessary 
to  indemnify  the  holder  of  the  stall  or  shop  for 
the  possible  customer  he  might  have  lost.  To 

'38 


ALEXANDRIA  TO  CAIRO 

retire  to  the  dahabiyeh,  after  the  noise,  heat,  flies 
and  all  other  unpleasantnesses  which  the  close 
proximity  of  these  people  entails,  is  a  joy  indeed. 
The  clang  and  clamour  of  the  works  near  us  had 
ceased,  and  no  sound  but  the  occasional  plashing 
of  an  oar  would  disturb  us  while  enjoying  a 
peaceful  cigarette  and  watching  the  sunset  from 
the  deck. 

To  sail  up  to  Thebes  on  my  friend's  dahabiyeh 
was  a  pleasure  time  would  not  permit  me  to  enjoy. 
I  had  spent  some  weeks  on  the  Mavis  in  the 
previous  spring,  when  we  were  drifting  down  the 
river,  and  I  appreciated  what  I  was  losing  in  not 
being  able  to  accept  my  friend's  invitation.  The 
prospects  of  rejoining  him  at  Karnak,  when  the 
season's  work  at  Der  el-Bahri  would  be  ended, 
somewhat  consoled  me.  A  night's  journey  in  the 
Luxor  train  is  a  much  more  prosaic  mode  of  pro- 
gression, but  the  two  or  three  weeks'  time  needed 
to  sail  that  distance  was  out  of  the  question. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THEBES 

I  ARRIVED  at  Luxor  on  the  first  of  December ;  and 
the  train  being  only  a  matter  of  four  hours  late  did 
not  seem  to  surprise  those  who  had  come  to  meet 
me,  any  more  than  it  surprised  the  camel  which  had 
also  been  waiting  that  time,  on  the  Thebes  side  of 
the  Nile,  to  take  my  luggage  to  the  camp.  A 
queer  load  did  the  beast  carry  that  afternoon  ! 
Paints  in  one  pannier  would  be  counterbalanced  by 
pickles  and  tins  in  the  other,  a  sack  of  plaster 
of  Paris  weighing  more  than  a  portmanteau, 
with  sardines  and  candles  stuffed  round  it  to 
equalise  matters.  And,  ye  gods  !  what  a  lot  of 
sardines  !  The  delicious  savoury  that  looks  so 
well  on  a  background  of  toast  ;  would  it  look 
equally  well  served  up  in  platefuls  as  a  piece  de 
resistance  ?  Were  those  other  tins  also  filled 
with  the  delectable  little  fish  ?  No,  their  place 
of  origin,  the  revelations  concerning  which  have 
lately  made  many  a  cheek  turn  pale,  at  least 

140 


THEBES 

reassured  me  that  I  was  not  to  undergo  a  strict 
sardine  cure.  Some  bags  of  flour  that  were 
being  balanced  against  my  sketching  apparatus  re- 
assured me  yet  more.  When  the  easel  had  been  well 
wedged  in  one  pannier  and  the  sketching  umbrella 
in  the  other,  Mohammed  Effendi,  who  represented 
the  Egyptian  Exploration  Fund,  gave  the  orders  to 
march.  He  and  I  mounted  our  donkeys  and  the 
"  commissaree  camuel "  followed  in  our  rear. 

The  donkey  as  we  know  it  in  England  is  a 
sorry  kind  of  mount,  and  no  one  but  a  circus 
clown  would  dare  turn  up  at  a  meet  upon  such  a 
steed  ;  but  when  British  sporting  enterprise  has 
introduced  packs  of  hounds  into  the  country,  the 
Egyptian  donkey  will  figure  largely  in  the  field. 

A  half  mile  of  sand  and  dried  mud  separated  the 
river  from  the  cultivated  land,  and  a  brisk  canter 
across  this  left  the  camel  and  its  driver  well  behind. 
After  passing  some  enclosed  gardens,  and  crossing 
the  canal  bridge,  we  descended  into  the  wide  green 
plain  separating  the  necropolis  of  Thebes  from  the 
river.  The  colossi  of  Amenhotep  III.  stand  on  the 
further  end  of  the  cultivation,  and  upon  the  left  of 
them,  on  the  edge  of  the  desert,  we  can  just  discern 
the  pylons  of  the  great  temple  of  Medinet  Habu. 
The  ruins  of  the  Ramesseum  are  partly  hidden  by 
trees,  and  the  amphitheatre  formed  by  the  clifFs 
that  back  the  temple  of  Der  el-Bahri  is  just  visible 

141 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

beyond.  A  couple  of  miles'  ride  and  we  leave  the 
colossi  on  our  left,  but  we  can  still  see  the  darkened 
bases  that  show  the  reach  of  the  waters  during  the 
yearly  inundations  of  the  Nile.  We  pass  alongside 
the  broken  pylon  of  the  Ramesseum  which  stands 
just  above  the  cultivated  plain  that  we  are  now 
leaving.  Here  we  have  to  pick  our  way  through 
open  tombs  and  the  pile  of  debris  that  has  been 
thrown  out  at  different  periods.  Tombs  are  now 
the  main  feature  of  the  whole  landscape  before  us  ; 
often  pits  and  low  rubbish  hills  break  up  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  until  it  reaches  an  outlying  part  of 
the  village  of  Kurnah,  which  stands  on  a  higher 
level. 

We  ascend  between  the  huts  of  the  village,  and 
some  half  naked  little  urchins,  rolling  in  the  dust, 
or  running  after  some  hungry-looking  fowls,  are  a 
welcome  sign  of  life  in  this  vast  cemetery.  From 
a  larger  hollow  than  most  of  those  which  we  have 
passed,  a  woman's  shrill  voice  calls  out  to  the 
children  to  leave  the  chickens  alone.  Looking 
down,  one  realises  that  this  hollow  is  but  the 
entrance  to  one  or  more  burial-places,  and  the 
square  black  hole  into  which  the  woman  dis- 
appears, and  which  is  now  the  doorway  of  her 
dwelling,  is  the  open  mouth  of  a  tomb.  One 
or  two  square,  mud-brick  houses  are  the  residences 
of  the  more  well-to-do ;  the  rest  of  the  population 

142 


THE  RAMESSEUM  AT  THEBES 


THEBES 

of  this  scattered  and  extensive  village  either  live 
entirely  in  tombs,  or  use  tombs  as  a  part  of  their 
dwelling. 

A  low  mud  wall  surrounds  part  of  a  court 
to  prevent  persons  or  animals  from  tumbling  into 
the  enclosure,  and  curious  erections,  like  gigantic 
toadstools  with  their  edges  curved  upwards,  rise 
from  the  floor.  They  are  built  of  sun-dried  mud, 
are  rudely  ornamented,  and  are  of  various  heights. 
Some  of  these  were  filled  with  straw  or  fodder,  but 
they  are  not  constructed  for  this  purpose,  though 
they  are  useful  in  the  winter  to  store  things  out 
of  reach  of  the  goats.  It  is  as  an  out-door  resting 
place  that  these  are  really  built,  and  their  peculiar 
shape  is  well  adapted  to  prevent  scorpions  from 
becoming  bed-fellows.  On  the  outside  edge  of  the 
hollow,  where  the  sleeper  lies  curled  up  at  night, 
are  one  or  two  projections  shaped  like  egg-cups, 
which  are  large  enough  to  hold  a  "  kulla,"  the 
porous  earthen  water-bottle.  It  is,  perhaps,  fortunate 
that  scorpions  have  made  these  folk  abandon 
the  close  sepulchre  for  so  airy  a  resting-place. 
What  cooking  is  done  takes  place  inside  the 
habitation,  and  the  smoke  has  no  other  outlet  than 
the  entrance.  Some  of  the  more  fortunate  inhabitants 
have  several  of  these  rock-cut  tombs  opening  on  to 
the  courtyard,  in  which  case  one  serves  as  a  sleep- 
ing apartment  during  the  winter  season,  when  the 

H3 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

scorpions  are  hibernating,  another  as  kitchen,  and 
the  others  house  such  live-stock  as  the  owner 
possesses.  The  dwellings  vary  a  good  deal  accord- 
ing to  the  position  of  the  tomb  which  forms  the 
nucleus.  This  is,  in  places,  some  feet  up  the  side 
of  a  cliff,  when  a  square-roofed  hut  is  built  against 
it,  enclosing  the  entrance,  and  the  tomb  itself  serves 
as  a  second  apartment,  having  a  few  stone  steps 
leading  into  it. 

Descending  the  ridge  of  land  near  these  dwellings, 
one  observes  the  entrances  to  sepulchres  with 
closed  iron  doors,  with  the  slopes  down  to  them 
cleared  of  debris  and  an  official  number  on  each 
lintel.  They  are  less  picturesque  externally  than 
those  that  we  have  passed,  but  they  evidently 
possess  something  of  importance.  These  are  some 
of  the  tombs  of  the  Sheykh  Abd  el-Kurnah  ;  but 
we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of  them  later  on,  so 
at  present  we  continue  our  road. 

A  ruined  mud-brick  tower,  with  some  walls 
above,  suggests  the  remains  of  an  early  Coptic 
convent ;  but  I  am  informed  that  they  date  no 
further  back  than  the  early  part  of  the  last  century 
and  are  the  remains  of  the  house  in  which  Wilkinson 
lived.  Here  he  collected  most  of  the  material 
for  his  "  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient 
Egyptians," — a  book  considered  out  of  date  by 
some,  but  which  is  most  interesting  reading,  and 

144 


THEBES 

is  illustrated  with  great  knowledge  by  the  author. 
He  died,  I  am  told,  by  a  gun  accident,  in  this 
house  where  he  had  spent  so  much  of  his  time. 
When  the  poor  man  was  dying,  a  fear  that  sus- 
picion might  fall  upon  his  servants  caused  him  to 
send  for  the  "  Omdeh"  or  chief  of  the  village,  and 
he  made  a  declaration  that  his  carelessness  alone  had 
caused  the  accident,  and  that  no  one  but  himself 
was  to  blame.  This  probably  saved  the  necks  of 
his  servants,  for  in  those  days  a  suspicion  was  often 
enough  fatal  to  those  upon  whom  it  fell,  especially 
if  a  foreign  Government  pressed  for  an  inquiry. 

We  now  enter  the  huge  amphitheatre  formed  by 
the  limestone  cliffs  that  circle  round  the  western 
end  of  the  Der  el-Bahri  valley.  The  terraced  and 
colonnaded  temple  of  Hatshepsu  stands  at  the  base, 
and  faces  the  temple  of  Luxor  some  four  miles 
away,  upon  the  other  side  of  the  Nile.  It  would 
have  been  hard  to  find  a  finer  site,  or  a  more  im- 
posing background  than  this.  A  low  stone  hut 
nearer  to  us,  and  to  the  left  of  the  temple,  is  at 
this  moment  interesting  me  more  than  anything 
else  ;  for  this  hut  is  to  be  my  home  for  the  next 
five  months.  The  dust  arising  from  the  founda- 
tions of  an  earlier  temple  to  the  left  of  that  of 
Hatshepsu  showed  that  the  excavations  were  in  full 
swing,  and  we  could  hear  the  sing-song  of  the  crowd 
of  workmen  on  the  dig. 

145  L 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

My  friend  Currelly  was  up  at  the  excavations,  but 
a  cheery  welcome  from  an  American  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  hut  soon  made  me  feel  at  home.  Three 
young  Arabs,  who  were  cook,  butler  and  footman 
respectively,  kissed  my  hand,  tendered  their  greetings, 
and  then  composed  themselves  for  a  long  stare. 

Mr.  Dennis,  who  was  acting  host,  sent  off  Albrik- 
man,  the  cook,  to  prepare  tea,  and  Bulbul,  the 
waiter,  fished  out  a  cloth  and  spread  it  over  a  pack- 
ing case,  or  table,  I  should  say,  to  give  it  its  future 
dignity.  The  third  Arab  youth,  Achmet,  continued 
his  stare  ;  he  had,  so  far,  only  thoroughly  con- 
templated my  hat,  and  there  yet  remained  a  good 
hour's  staring  before  he  would  reach  my  boots  ; 
but  he  had  hardly  got  as  far  as  my  shoulders,  when 
an  unnecessary  craving  on  my  part  for  a  wash 
obliged  him  to  defer  taking  me  thoroughly  in  till 
a  more  convenient  period.  I  gathered  that  as 
we  had  parted  company  with  the  "  commissaree 
camuel "  at  the  river's  edge,  my  luggage  might  be 
expected  to  arrive  in  an  hour.  I  had  been  able  to 
complete  my  toilet  in  a  tent  near  the  hut,  when  a 
long  whistle,  and  a  shout  from  what  appeared  an 
army  of  workmen,  apprised  me  that  the  day's  work 
was  over.  This  shouting,  which  seemed  to  come 
from  every  part  of  the  valley,  gave  me  the  impres- 
sion that  very  extensive  excavations  must  be  going 
on.  One  of  the  camp  dogs  then  started  barking, 

146 


D£R  EL-BAHRI 


a    ~ 


* 


THEBES 

and  the  sound  was  repeated  again  and  again,  as 
if  all  the  curs  of  the  surrounding  country  were 
responding.  Sticking  my  head  out  of  the  tent  to 
call  for  a  towel — "  towel,  towel,  towel  !  "  my  voice 
returned  in  a  diminuendo,  till  it  died  away  in  the 
distance.  This  repeating  echo  added  to  the  weird- 
ness  of  my  new  quarters. 

The  sun  had  sunk  behind  the  western  cliffs 
which  enclose  the  valley,  and  its  rays  were  only 
reflected  on  the  heights  to  the  east ;  the  hollow 
which,  in  the  full  light,  was  broken  by  shapeless 
heaps  of  debris,  reminding  one  unpleasantly  of 
London  when  the  streets  are  up,  was  now  glorified 
by  a  luminous  shadow,  warm  in  the  near  fore- 
ground and  deepening  its  violet  hue  till  it 
met  the  rich  gold  above.  Tea,  the  increasing 
beauty  of  the  valley  as  well  as  the  cessation  of 
noise,  put  me  in  the  best  of  humours.  We  were 
ioined  by  a  second  member  of  the  dig,  a  Major 
Griffith,  and  presently  Currelly  returned  from  the 
works  and  joined  our  tea  party.  There  was  much 
to  talk  about.  The  casting  of  the  expedition  to 
Punt,  which  I  had  hoped  was  well  started,  had  not 
begun.  The  two  natives  who  had  had  some  slight 
experience  in  that  kind  of  work  had  been  bribed 
away  to  another  dig,  and  it  seemed  doubtful  when 
I  should  be  able  to  commence  my  part  of  the  work. 
Ways  and  means  were  discussed  long  after  the 

147  L  2 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

valley  was  in  complete  darkness,  with  not  a  light 
to  be  seen  but  that  of  the  candles  on  our  improvised 
tea  table. 

The  camel  at  last  turned  up,  and  I  began  to 
consider  arrangements  for  the  night.  There  were 
two  empty  rooms  leading  out  of  a  general  sitting- 
room  in  the  hut,  and  a  large  store-room  for  the 
"  finds,"  from  which  a  faint  smell  of  mouse  and 
mummy  proceeded.  The  two  former  chambers, 
were,  however,  to  be  occupied  by  two  lady  visitors 
who  were  expected  from  Cairo  the  next  day,  and 
I  was  still  in  doubt  as  to  what  were  to  be  my 
quarters  for  the  next  few  months.  Where  was  I 
to  sleep  ;  and  upon  what  ?  I  was  beginning  to 
think  that  even  the  much-despised  luxurious  hotel 
in  Cairo  ;  "  replete  with  every  modern  comfort," 
was  not  such  a  bad  thing  after  all.  However, 
Bulbul  produced  a  native  bedstead,  which  he 
placed  in  an  open  space  between  heaps  of  broken 
stones  that  had  been  brought  down  from  the  exca- 
tions,  Achmet  followed  with  a  mattress,  and  my 
bedroom  was  complete.  It  was  spacious,  for  it 
embraced  the  whole  valley  with  the  star-spangled 
firmament  for  the  ceiling.  It  took  a  good  deal  of 
lighting,  for  the  wind,  which  generally  rises  an 
hour  after  sunset,  had  not  forgotten  us  that  night, 
and  made  short  work  of  the  candles.  My  friend 
seemed  surprised  that  I  could  not  see  to  pick  my 

148 


THEBES 

way  in  the  dark  through  the  broken  bits  of 
temple  that  lay  everywhere.  I  assured  him  that 
many  of  my  countrymen  suffered  from  the  same 
complaint,  and  he  humanely  led  me  back  to 
the  hut.  A  tent  near  our  two  beds  (I  had  not 
noticed  the  second  couch  till  I  stumbled  over  it  in 
the  dark)  served  as  a  dressing-room  for  both  of 
us.  My  friend  is  a  Canadian,  and  has  had  much 
experience  in  camping  out,  both  in  his  own  country 
and  in  Egypt  ;  he  must  have  smiled  as  he  heard  the 
"  tenderfoot  "  trip  up  over  the  tent  ropes.  Dark- 
ness hid  the  smile,  though  I  fancied  I  heard  it  ;  a 
novel  situation  is  liable  to  make  one  fanciful !  A 
remaining  quarter  of  the  moon  was  to  appear  later 
on,  so  I  postponed  further  bedroom  arrangements 
and  let  my  baggage  lie  where  the  camel  had  left  it. 
The  sitting-room  of  the  hut  seemed  a  blaze  of 
light  when  we  reached  it  ;  the  table  was  set,  and  I 
was  awaiting  an  enormous  dish  of  sardines  ;  as  I 
had  imagined  that  this  with  pickles  was  an  excava- 
tor's sole  diet,  and  was  what  I  had  been  prepared 
to  expect  from  the  load  of  the  camel.  Bulbul 
appeared  very  soon  with  a  steaming  bowl  of  soup, 
to  be  repulsed  by  Achmet,  who,  with  the  help  of 
Dennis,  was  preparing  a  hors-d'oeuvre.  Sardines, 
I  thought  ;  but  no,  a  dish  of  delicious  little 
anchovies,  fresh  from  a  swim  in  their  native  oil 
and  resting  amongst  some  stoned  olives,  were 

149 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

presently  brought  in.  Standing  at  the  head  of 
the  table,  the  dish  carried  true  waiter  fashion,  ear 
high,  on  back-stretched  hand,  Achmet  solemnly 
announced  that  dinner  was  served.  A  popping  of 
corks  came  from  the  direction  of  Bulbul,  who,  as 
a  true  son  of  Egypt,  bore  little  resentment  for  his 
previous  rebuff.  The  soup  was  none  the  worse 
when  it  appeared  a  second  time,  and  the  whole  of 
the  dinner  was  eaten  with  that  best  of  sauces, — 
the  sharp  appetite  produced  by  the  crisp  desert  air. 

The  varied  experiences  of  the  four  who  made 
up  the  party  supplied  plenty  of  subject  for  con- 
versation. The  Major  had  served  two  years  in 
South  Africa  during  the  Boer  War  ;  Currelly  had 
had  a  long  experience  in  excavating,  and  had  spent 
a  season  with  Flinders  Petrie  exploring  the  Sinaitic 
peninsula  ;  Dennis,  who  hails  from  the  southern 
States,  had  a  fund  of  anecdotes  which  he  could  shoot 
in  whenever  there  was  a  gap  in  the  flow  of  talk, 
and  I  even  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  a  story 
well  landed.  Early  hours  obtain  in  the  camp,  and 
the  half  moon  having  kept  its  appointment,  I  was 
able  to  ferret  out  a  heavy  rug  from  my  baggage, 
and  to  reach  my  bed  without  barking  my  shins. 

Now  sleeping  in  the  open  with  comfort  is  not 
learnt  in  one  night  in  the  desert  any  more  than 
elsewhere.  The  valley  which  we  were  in  still 
retained  some  of  the  heat  of  a  long  day's  sun,  and 

150 


STATUE  OF  RAMSES  II.,   LUXOR  TEMPLE 


THEBES 

my  bed  was  at  first  uncomfortably  warm.  The 
wind  had  dropped,  so  I  anticipated  no  trouble  from 
that  quarter,  but  the  barking  of  a  dog,  that  some 
well  directed  stones  failed  to  silence,  promised  badly. 
This,  however,  was  a  minor  discomfort  compared 
with  the  wind  and  the  cold  later  on.  Currelly  had 
slept  out  so  often,  and  was  so  sound  a  sleeper,  that  he 
could  have  slumbered  on  a  toasting-fork.  Two  guards 
were  there  and  it  was  their  business  to  wake  up,  each 
time  the  brutes  barked,  to  see  if  anyone  was  about. 
I  was  quite  willing  to  leave  all  the  waking  up  to 
them,  but  I  could  not  help  sharing  in  it  myself. 

At  first  I  rather  enjoyed  lying  awake  ;  there  was 
a  pleasure  in  the  novelty,  and  the  moonlight  on  the 
cliffs  made  them  appear  even  grander  than  when  I 
saw  them  by  daylight.  The  air  was  deliciously 
fresh,  and  the  Arab  blanket  that  I  had  bought  in 
the  Tunis  bazaar  kept  me  beautifully  warm.  The 
dogs  had  been  silent  for  some  time,  and  I  was  becom- 
ing pleasantly  conscious  of  consciousness  departing, 
when  a  howl  from  a  jackal  started  the  two  brutes 
barking  again.  Shades  of  Thebes,  what  a  noise 
they  made  !  One  started  off  like  a  flash  in  the 
direction  of  the  howl,  which  I  counted  a  mercy, 
while  the  second  one  contented  itself  by  barking 
nearer  home  ;  and  not  only  did  the  echoes  take 
up  the  noise,  but  the  dog  of  the  guards  at  the 
Hatshepsu  temple  joined  in.  The  moon  had  sunk 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

behind  the  cliffs,  so  I  must  really  have  slept  some 
time  ;  it  was  very  nearly  dark,  but  I  could  see  an 
object  lying  where  the  loudest  bark  came  from,  and, 
feeling  about  for  a  stone,  I  lit  on  a  bit  of  Currelly's 
palaeolithic  collection  and  let  fly  at  the  dark  object. 
I  hit  it,  but  it  proved  to  be  an  empty  petroleum 
tin,  and  not  my  enemy.  The  noise  seemed  to  wake 
no  one  else  ;  happy  people  !  I  got  into  bed  again 
and  soon  fell  fast  asleep.  I  dreamt  that  the  noise 
was  awakening  the  dead,  and  that  mummies  were 
creeping  out  of  every  pit  I  had  passed  on  my  way 
here.  Then  I  felt  like  a  mummy  myself,  and 
dreamed  that  the  tombstone  which  covered  me 
was  making  attempts  to  raise  itself.  A  cold  shiver 
ran  through  me  at  each  of  its  efforts.  A  sensation 
of  lightness  as  though  the  stone  had  lifted  entirely, 
and  the  frenzied  dance  of  an  empty  petroleum  tin 
which  appeared  to  be  making  merry  awoke  me 
completely.  A  howling  wind  had  risen,  and  my 
heavy  Tunis  blanket  had  disappeared  in  the  dark- 
ness. I  tumbled  about  the  stones  in  search  of  it 
and  bumped  up  against  a  man.  This  proved  to  be 
one  of  the  guards  who  had  come  to  my  assistance, 
and  who  found  the  blanket.  He  spread  this  over 
the  bed  so  that  a  piece  overlapped  and  rested  upon 
the  ground  on  each  side.  Half  an  Osiride  figure 
was  lifted  on  to  one  piece  while  I  stood  on  the  other 
to  keep  it  in  place.  I  could  not  face  the  wind  for  the 

152 


THEBES 

dust,  and  my  ears  and  neck  smarted  from  the 
particles  that  were  blown  against  them.  Frag- 
ments of  temple  were  now  placed  on  the  portion 
of  the  blanket  upon  which  I  had  been  standing, 
and  I  found  my  way  to  the  dressing-tent  to  put  my 
clothes  on,  as  I  was  now  bitterly  cold  in  nothing 
but  pyjamas.  How  this  tent  stood  against  the 
wind  was  a  marvel.  Hearing  the  major's  voice 
I  peeped  out  and  found  he  was  struggling  to 
disengage  himself  from.;  his  canvas,  which  had 
been  blown  down.  The  striking  of  matches  in 
the  next  tent,  which  was  still  standing,  showed  that 
the  wind  was  too  much  for  Dennis,  and  that  he 
was  preparing  to  spend  the  night  in  the  hut  in 
preference  to  being  enveloped  in  his.  The  guard 
shouting  to  his  mate  to  come  and  help  woke 
Currelly,  and  the  boys  arrived  with  lanterns.  They 
managed  to  extract  the  mattresses  from  the 
tents,  and  Griffith  and  Dennis  slept  indoors,  while 
Currelly  and  I  decided  to  see  the  night  out  where 
we  were,  and,  tying  handkerchiefs  over  our  faces 
to  keep  the  dust  out,  we  got  into  bed  again.  I 
was  thankful  to  have  got  into  my  clothes,  for  my 
wonderful  blanket  of  which  I  had  boasted  was  not 
enough  of  itself  to  keep  out  the  increasing  cold. 
The  wind  that  had  awakened  us  all  seemed  now  to 
help  to  lull  us  to  sleep,  and  I  knew  no  more  of  the 
storm  that  night. 

'53 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

The  sun  rising  above  the  hills  beyond  Luxor 
woke  me  up,  and  in  spite  of  a  disturbed  night,  I 
felt  very  much  refreshed  ;  for  which  the  absence  of 
stuffiness  in  my  vast  dormitory  may  have  accounted. 
The  wind  had  completely  dropped,  and  not  a  sound 
but  some  heavy  breathing  near  me  could  I  hear. 
How  seldom  does  one  enjoy  the  beauty  of  sunrise 
while  leading  a  life  in  town.  My  stay  in  this 
camp  gave  me  plenty  of  opportunity  to  do  so,  as 
the  approaching  light  never  failed  to  awaken  me. 
This  was  very  well  during  the  winter  months,  for 
the  sun  then  rises  only  some  forty  minutes  earlier 
than  in  England,  but  when  the  days  lengthened 
out  in  the  spring,  I  did  not  appreciate  being 
awakened  so  very  long  before  there  was  any  chance 
of  breakfast. 

Groups  of  workmen  soon  appeared,  filing  along 
the  entrance  to  the  valley,  looking  like  little  black 
silhouettes  against  the  misty  light  in  the  east.  At 
seven  o'clock  some  300  men  and  boys  were  grouped 
near  the  camp,  while  Mohammed  Effendi  called 
the  roll.  I  was  now  able  to  see  to  open  my  bag- 
gage and  to  arrange  what  I  wanted  in  the  dressing 
tent,  but  my  heart  sank  when  I  gathered  from  one  of 
the  Arab  servants  that  breakfast  was  not  till  eight 
o'clock,  for  this  open-air  treatment  made  me  feel  a 
sinking  in  another  part  of  my  anatomy.  I  could 
have  embraced  Bulbul  when,  anticipating  my 

'54 


THE  COLOSSI  AT  THEBES 


THEBES 

-desires,  he  brought  me  a  cup  of  tea.  This  name 
of  "  Bulbul "  was  one  which  I  had  never  heard 
before,  so  I  questioned  the  lad  about  it.  I  found 
that  it  was  not  the  name  given  to  him  at  his  birth, 
but  was  that  of  "a  bird  that  sings  very  well " — (the 
nightingale,  I  found  out  afterwards).  He  modestly 
admitted  that  it  was  his  voice  which  had  earned 
him  this  nickname,  and  that  he  was  in  great 
request  when  the  village  "  Molid  "  was  on. 


J55 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   TEMPLE    OF   AMMON 

AFTER  breakfast  I  took  a  stroll  up  to  the 
Hatshepsu  temple  with  Currelly,  to  study  the  best 
means  to  adopt  in  order  to  make  the  casting  with 
the  least  risk  to  the  wall  painting.  We  took  from 
the  works  a  couple  of  men  who  my  friend  knew  to  be 
adepts  at  making  sham  '  antikas,'  with  some  sheets 
of  tin-foil  and  a  lump  of  wax.  Choosing  a  simple 
bas-relief  to  experiment  upon,  we  held  the  tinfoil 
against  the  stone  and  rubbed  it  into  the  cutting  with 
a  rag  until  the  impression  of  the  relief  began  to  show 
clearly  upon  the  surface.  The  deeper  cuttings  had 
then  to  be  pressed  in  with  a  stiff  hogshair  brush. 
The  beeswax,  which  we  placed  in  the  sun  to  soften, 
was  then  pressed  upon  the  tin-foil,  and  when  that 
was  completely  covered,  care  being  taken  not  to 
let  the  wax  touch  any  of  the  wall  itself, — we  had 
to  wait  until  the  cold  surface  of  the  stone  had 
hardened  the  wax. 

The  next  thing  was  to  take  the  foil  and  wax 


THE   TEMPLE   OF    AMMON 

backing  off  the  stone  and  lay  it  face  upwards  on  a 
flat  board.  This  silvery  mould  of  the  bas-relief 
looked  all  right  to  our  inexperienced  eyes,  and 
the  "  Quies  keteer "  of  the  c  antika '  forgers  was 
encouraging.  The  mould  was  taken  down  to  the 
hut,  and  after  giving  it  a  wipe  over  with  grease  we 
took  a  plaster  cast  from  it. 

We  then  left  the  plaster  to  harden,  and  went  to 
see  what  was  doing  in  the  cloud  of  dust  that  was 
arising  from  the  excavations  to  the  left  of  the 
Hatshepsu  temple. 

The  Egyptian  Exploration  Fund  obtained  the 
concession  to  excavate  this  early  temple  in  1903, 
after  the  work  on  its  later  neighbour  had  been 
handed  over  to  the  Antiquities  Department.  Pro- 
fessor Naville  gave  his  services,  and,  assisted  by 
Henry  Hall  of  the  British  Museum  and  latterly  by 
C.  T.  Currelly,  he  completed  the  work  in  three  years. 
As  we  ascend  the  three  terraces  we  notice  the 
similarity  of  plan  to  the  sanctuary  Hatshepsu 
erected  some  seven  centuries  later.  There  is,  how- 
ever, one  feature  which  distinguishes  the  temple 
of  Mentuhotep  II.  from  any  other,  and  that  is  the 
ruin  of  a  pyramid  on  the  third  terrace.  It  is  the 
only  known  instance  of  a  pyramid  forming  an 
actual  part  of  a  temple,  and  the  singularity  of  this 
has  led  to  some  interesting  results.  A  papyrus  in 
the  Turin  Museum  states  that  the  Pharaoh  (one  of 

'57 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

the  later  Ramses)  appointed  a  commission  to  visit 
the  tombs  of  his  predecessors  and  report  upon  their 
condition.  In  their  report  they  mentioned  that  the 
tomb  of  Mentuhotep  II.  was  intact,  but  they  did  not 
say  where  this  tomb  was  situated,  but  a  drawing  of 
a  pyramid  followed  the  brief  allusion  to  it.  This 
decided  Professor  Naville  to  search  for  this  tomb 
under  the  pyramid.  It  was  not  found,  but  his 
labour  was  rewarded  by  finding  six  diorite  statues 
of  Usertesen  III.,  three  of  which  are  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  three  at  Cairo.  As  this 
monarch  belongs  to  a  later  dynasty,  namely  the 
XII,  it  adds  one  more  problem  to  the  many  that 
this  temple  leaves  unsolved. 

A  pit  tomb  that  was  unearthed  a  few  yards  behind 
the  base  of  this  pyramid  proved  to  be  that  of  a 
woman,  and  some  well  preserved,  though  rude, 
wall  paintings  of  the  XI  dynasty,  which  covered  the 
exterior  of  this  sepulchre,  were  also  well  worth 
finding  ;  but  where  the  remains  of  Mentuhotep 
lay  was  still  a  mystery. 

The  excavations  were  carried  further  into  the 
base  of  the  cliffs  that  back  the  temple  ;  the  debris 
from  the  limestone  rocks  was  cleared,  the  under- 
lying strata  of  shale  was  reached,  and  great  was  the 
surprise  of  Mr.  Dalison,  who  was  at  the  time 
directing  the  workmen,  when,  without  any  warning, 
a  mass  of  broken  stone  slid  down,  exposing  a  deep 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   AMMON 

recess  in  the  rock  and  the  head  and  shoulders  of  a 
Hathor  cow.  The  winter  of  1906  was  a  season  of 
surprises  at  Thebes,  but  the  suddenness  of  this  one, 
the  beauty  of  the  sculpture,  and  the  perfection  of 
its  preservation  marked  this  as  an  epoch-making 
find.  Currelly,  who  was  on  the  spot  before  the  dust 
had  subsided,  supplied  me  with  the  details. 

The  work  had  to  be  carried  on  with  great  caution. 
The  native  workmen  are  keenly  interested  when 
some  valuable  object  is  found,  and  easily  lose  their 
heads  when  excited.  Working  into  the  sides  of 
these  cliffs  might,  if  not  carried  on  with  great  care, 
cause  a  land-slip  that  might  have  fatal  results  ; 
therefore  some  of  the  rock  has  to  be  shorn  up  before 
one  dare  risk  dislodging  the  underlying  stone.  The 
nature  of  the  hollow  from  which  this  startling  head 
appeared  wanted  careful  study.  When  the  fallen 
debris  was  cleared,  this  hollow  proved  to  be  soundly 
arched ;  and  fairly  well  preserved  wall  paintings,  that 
covered  the  interior,  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  period 
of  its  construction  and  that  of  the  magnificent  cow 
which  it  enshrined.  It  is  regrettable  that  the  whole 
could  not  have  remained  in  situ.  The  museum 
authorities  at  Cairo,  however,  naturally  anxious  to 
add  so  fine  a  specimen  of  XVIII  dynasty  sculpture 
to  their  collection,  made  the  most  of  the  danger  it 
would  run  of  being  damaged  in  this  out  of  the  way 
locality.  The  local  Inspector  of  Antiquities,  Mr. 

'59 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

Weigall,  was,  much  to  his  credit,  equally  keen  on 
its  remaining  in  its  proper  surroundings,  and  was 
willing  to  hold  himself  responsible  for  its  keeping. 
Its  impressiveness  would  have  been  slightly  impaired 
by  the  iron  gates  necessary  to  prevent  it  from 
wanton  mischief,  or  from  thieves  carrying  it  away 
in  fragments  on  the  chance  of  selling  them  to  relic 
hunters  ;  but,  standing  in  this  niche,  in  the  base  of 
these  imposing  cliffs,  near  Hatshepsu's  sanctuary,  to 
which  it  belongs,  it  would  have  been  a  far  more 
impressive  sight  than  it  is  where  it  now  stands  in 
the  Cairo  museum.  The  lining  of  the  shrine  has 
also  been  set  up  in  the  same  museum,  but  the  un- 
fortunate resemblance  which  it  now  bears  to  a  large 
dog  kennel  is  bound  to  strike  every  one. 

The  accompanying  illustration  gives  the  upper 
terrace  of  Mentuhotep's  temple,  with  the  ruined 
base  of  the  pyramid  to  the  right.  The  southern 
end  of  the  later  temple  is  in  the  middle  distance, 
and  the  cliffs  that  enclose  the  valley  form  the 
background.  In  the  second  hollow  to  the  left  is 
the  spot  where  the  Hathor  cow  was  found,  but, 
though  well  within  the  area  of  Mentuhotep's 
sanctuary,  it  had  no  connection  with  it  save  that 
of  locality.  It  was  an  outlying  shrine  of  the 
marvellous  temple  which  Queen  Hatshepsu  erected 
after  the  one  we  are  now  on  had  fallen  into  ruin  ; 
and  there  are  evidences  that  both  had  been  restored 

1 60 


RUINS   OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  MENTUHOTEP  AT 
THEBES 


THE   TEMPLE    OF   AMMON 

at  a  still  later  date  by  Ramses  II.  The  hollow  to 
the  extreme  left  of  the  illustration  is  where  lay  the 
centre  of  interest  of  this  winter's  dig.  The  mouth 
of  an  important  tomb  had  been  found,  and  the 
arrival  of  Professor  Naville  was  awaited  before 
actually  opening  what  could  easily  have  proved  to 
be  the  chief  object  of  his  search, — the  missing 
tomb. 

Returning  to  the  hut,  where  the  cast  had  had 
ample  time  to  set,  we  proceeded ^to  detach  it  from 
the  wax  that  formed  the  matrix.  An  impression 
of  the  original  was  there,  but  the  tinfoil  necessary 
to  prevent  the  wax  from  touching  the  colour  on 
the  wall,  had  very  much  rounded  the  edges  of  the 
sharp  cutting  which  gives  the  original  work  its 
vitality.  The  wax  had  not  reached  the  full  depth 
of  the  hollows  and  a  good  deal  of  tooling  on  the 
cast  would  be  necessary  to  give  it  the  sharpness 
required.  Another  difficulty  presented  itself  ;  the 
wax,  that  had  stiffened  sufficiently  while  on  the 
cold  surface  of  the  wall,  had-  softened  a  good  deal 
before  the  plaster  had  been  poured  over  it,  and 
it  had  sunk  slightly  where  the  surface  of  the 
backing  was  not  flush  with  the  board  it  was 
laid  on. 

Before  attempting  the  next  stone,  we  procured 
an  iron  tea  table  and  spread  the  broken  wax  on 
this,  and,  with  the  help  of  allspirit  lamp,  we  were 

161  M 


BELOW  THE    CATARACTS 

able  to  heat  the  top  of  the  table  sufficiently  to  melt 
the  wax  to  the  required  consistency.  Longer  time 
was  given  to  preparing  the  tin  foil,  while  with 
wedge-shaped  slips  of  wood  we  drove  the  tin  foil 
well  home  where  the  cuttings  were  deepest,  and 
the  wax  now  being  softer,  it  could  more  easily  be 
pushed  well  into  the  crevices.  A  plaster  of  Paris 
backing  would  have  effectually  prevented  any 
sagging,  but  we  had  promised  Professor  Maspero 
not  to  allow  any  gypsum  to  be  taken  into  the 
temple,  lest  a  careless  workman  might  spill  some 
upon  the  wall  itself.  A  second  and  thicker  layer 
of  wax  over  the  first  did  some  good  ;  but,  as  the 
stones  on  the  wall  are  not  perfectly  level,  there 
were  bound  to  be  hollows  between  the  impression 
and  the  flat  board  upon  which  we  laid  it,  and  a 
sagging  down  to  the  level  of  the  board  was  bound 
to  take  place  as  soon  as  the  warmth  of  the  atmos- 
phere had  again  softened  the  beeswax.  This 
would  not  have  been  of  much  consequence  had  we 
only  wanted  an  individual  stone,  as  there  is  no 
great  gain  to  the  appearance  of  the  relief  from  its 
not  being  cut  on  a  quite  level  surface,  but  where 
some  two  hundred  stones  forming  this  bit  of  wall 
required  casting,  it  was  of  the  greatest  importance 
that  the  joints  should  be  flush.  A  limb  of  a  god, 
for  instance,  would  look  singularly  out,  if  a  half- 
inch  projection  where  the  stones  met  broke  the 

162 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   AMMON 

continuity  of  its  outline.  The  hollows  also  would 
not  sink  equally  down  to  the  level  of  the  backing 
board,  for  one  cannot  ensure  an  even  temperature 
of  the  air.  The  cast  from  the  second  impression 
was  much  sharper  and  better  than  the  first  attempt, 
but  a  movement  in  the  wax  matrix  had  certainly 
taken  place,  for  a  straight  edge  applied  to  the  cast 
did  not  tally  with  one  applied  to  the  original  stone, 
and  it  would  entail  some  paring  away  of  the  surface 
to  make  its  edges  everywhere  flush  with  those  of 
its  neighbours  when  they  came  to  be  embedded  in 
the  wall  of  the  New  York  Museum.  To  amend 
this  I  resorted  to  the  following  plan  : — I  had  my 
boards  cut  to  the  size  of  the  different  stones, 
allowing  the  tinfoil  sheet  to  slightly  overlap  the 
stone  to  be  impressed,  and  before  the  layers  of  wax 
had  time  to  harden,  from  the  colder  surface  of  the 
stone,  I  had  the  board  pressed  firmly  on  to  the  back 
of  the  impression,  and  bent  the  overlapping  wax 
over  three  edges  of  the  board.  When  sufficiently 
hardened,  I  took  the  mould  from  the  wall,  and, 
turning  it  upside  down,  I  ran  melted  wax  into  any 
hollows  there  might  be  between  the  back  of  the 
impression  and  the  surface  of  the  board.  This 
effectually  prevented  the  sagging,  and  did  away 
with  the  necessity  of  tooling  the  surface  of  the 
casts  ;  for,  however  well  the  latter  might  be  done, 
it  was  not  the  markings  of  my  chisel,  but  those  of 

163  M  2 


BELOW  THE    CATARACTS 

the  skilled  workmen  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty 
which  the  public  would  desire  to  see. 

To  instruct  the  peasants  who  were  my  assistants 
in  an  art  that  I  had  first  to  learn  myself  was 
no  easy  matter  with  my  very  imperfect  know- 
ledge of  Arabic.  Currelly  gave  me  all  the  assist- 
ance he  could,  but,  after  the  advent  of  Professor 
Naville,  the  opening  of  the  tomb  at  the  Mentuhotep 
temple  monopolised  all  his  time  and  thoughts. 
However,  I  found  the  half-dozen  Arabs,  whose 
work  I  was  directing,  were  quick  at  learning  and 
took  a  great  interest  in  their  occupation.  As  better 
results  were  obtained  we  increased  their  pay,  and 
by  the  time  I  was  satisfied  that  the  casts  were  as 
good  as  one  could  wish  their  pay  had  risen  to 
treble  what  they  received  while  on  the  dig.  Be 
it  said  that  the  wages  from  "  el  Kompania,"  as 
they  call  the  Egyptian  Exploration  Fund,  are 
extremely  low,  and  less  than  the  earnings  of 
labourers  employed  on  any  other  class  of  work, 
which  gave  me  a  shrewd  suspicion  that  the 
chances  of  concealing  scarabs  or  other  small 
antiquities  about  their  person  is  an  inducement 
to  them  to  work  at  so  low  a  wage. 

By  an  increase  of  pay  it  does  not  follow  that 
their  hands  would  be  kept  from  picking  and 
stealing,  for  the  "fellah,"  whom  you  might  trust 
with  anything  else,  is  not  to  be  trusted  for  an 

164 


SENSENEB,  IN  THE  TEMPLE  OF  HATSHEPSU  AT 
DER  EL-BAHRJ 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   AMMON 

instant  with  an  c  antika,'  which  he  has  come  to 
regard  as  his  inalienable  right. 

The  colouring  of  these  casts,  combined  with 
their  production,  was  very  interesting  ;  but  it  was 
absorbing  an  amount  of  my  time  and  attention 
that  boded  ill  for  my  water-colour  work.  To 
remedy  this  it  was  agreed  that  I  should  give  up 
the  whole  day  to  my  castings,  counting  two 
months  as  one,  and  so  be  able  to  devote  all  my 
time  to  my  water-colour  work  when  the  ct  Ex- 
pedition to  Punt "  should  be  completed. 

The  reader  has  now  heard  so  much  of  these 
reproductions  that  a  few  pages  about  the  originals 
and  the  temple  they  adorn  may  not  be  out  of 
place. 

Makere-Hatshepsu  is  the  first  woman,  of  whom 
we  have  any  historical  records,  who  was  placed  in 
the  position  of  ruler  of  a  great  country.  Daughter 
of  Thothmes  I.,  her  chief  claim  to  the  succession 
lay  in  her  being  also  the  daughter  of  Ahmes,  who 
was  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Theban  princes. 
Her  two  half-brothers,  known  as  Thothmes  the 
second  and  third  of  that  name,  both  disputed  this 
claim.  Though  of  less  royal  blood  than  their  half- 
sister,  their  sex  was  better  suited  to  their  country- 
men's ideas  of  kingship.  Of  the  brothers,  Thoth- 
mes II.  had  the  higher  claim  as  to  birth,  his 
mother  being  a  princess,  though  not  of  so  exalted 

'65 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

a  rank  as  Ahmes  ;  while  Thothmes  III.  was  the 
son  of  an  obscure  concubine.  The  latter  circum- 
stance would  have  put  the  third  claimant  com- 
pletely out  of  court  but  for  his  marriage  with  his 
half-sister.  For  a  short  while  these  two  ruled  con- 
jointly, and  while  Thothmes  was  enlarging  the 
temple  at  Karnak,  Hatshepsu  began  the  building  of 
this  sanctuary,  which  she  dedicated  to  Ammon. 
The  country  suffered  from  the  divided  councils  of 
the  co-regents,  an  opportunity  by  which  Thoth- 
mes II.  did  not  fail  to  profit.  The  Queen  was 
for  a  time  deposed  by  her  husband,  and  by  his 
orders  her  image  was  erased  from  the  walls  of  her 
yet  unfinished  temple.  The  party  attached  to  the 
second  Thothmes  placed  this  poor  creature  on  the 
throne,  whereupon  he  further  obliterated  the  inscrip- 
tions that  referred  to  his  half-sister.  His  reign  was 
a  short  one,  and  at  his  death  the  party  attached  to 
Hatshepsu  were  strong  enough  to  place  her  on  the 
throne  and  to  keep  her  husband  in  check.  She 
ruled  supreme  during  the  rest  of  her  life,  and  the 
beautifying  of  her  temple  was  her  chief  concern. 

The  priests  of  Ammon,  who  strongly  upheld 
her  claims,  now  sought  to  strengthen  her  prestige 
in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  In  the  north  colonnade 
the  story  of  her  divine  birth  is  depicted :  her 
earthly  father,  Thothmes  I.,  is  entirely  set  aside,  and 
this  beautiful  series  of  bas-reliefs  represents  Ahmes 

1 66 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   AMMON 

in  the  presence  of  Ammon  Ra,  and  the  hiero- 
glyphics record  the  words  of  the  god,  who  tells  her, 
"  Hatshepsu  shall  be  the  name  of  this  my  daughter 
(to  be  born).  .  .  .  She  shall  exercise  the  kingship 
in  this  whole  land."  The  ram-headed  Khnum  leads 
her  away  from  the  divine  presence.  The  babe  is 
represented  further  on,  and  the  divine  potter 
fashions  its  double.  To  lessen  the  prejudices 
against  a  woman  sitting  on  the  throne  which  had 
never  before  been  occupied  but  by  a  man,  the 
new-born  child  was  depicted  as  a  boy,  and  when, 
further  on,  the  queen  is  crowned  by  the  gods,  she 
is  represented  with  a  beard  and  the  short  skirt  of  a 
king.  Thothmes  only  appears  in  the  final  scene 
where  he,  before  the  assembled  court,  acknow- 
ledges her  as  the  ruler  of  the  land.  The  inscrip- 
tions are  here  framed  by  the  queen's  party  for  the 
purpose  of  making  her  position  doubly  sure.  They 
represent  her  predecessor,  whom  it  would  now  be 
blasphemy  to  call  her  father,  as  saying,  "  Ye  shall 
proclaim  her  word  ;  ye  shall  be  united  at  her  com- 
mand. He  who  shall  do  her  homage  shall  live  ; 
he  who  shall  speak  evil  in  blasphemy  of  her 
majesty  shall  die." 

Though  placed  here  so  late  in  the  day,  this  story 
doubtless  gained  credence  with  the  people,  who  for 
ages  had  held  the  Pharaohs  to  be  bodily  descendants 
of  the  sun-god.  Anyhow,  Hatshepsu  continued 

167 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

to  reign  in  spite  of  her  sex  for  the  rest  of  her 
life. 

This  was  a  misfortune  for  her  country,  as  it 
required  the  strong  arm  of  her  husband  to  con- 
solidate the  empire,  and,  as  an  old  man,  he  had  to 
subdue  the  tributary  states  that  had  become  unruly 
during  the  Queen's  milder  reign. 

The  land  of  Punt  was  believed  to  be  the  original 
home  of  the  gods  ;  Egyptologists  place  it  at  the 
extreme  east  of  Africa, — now  known  as  Somali- 
land — and  from  time  immemorial  the  fruit  of 
the  myrrh  trees  had  been  brought  over  land  from 
thence  to  be  offered  up  as  incense  at  the  shrines 
of  the  various  gods.  To  plant  the  terraces  of  this 
temple  of  Ammon  with  the  myrrh  trees  from  the 
land  which  the  god  is  stated  to  have  called  his 
"  place  of  delight,"  was  now  the  chief  ambition  of 
the  Queen. 

Five  ships  were  equipped  and  sent  down  the  Nile 
to  a  spot  where  a  canal  connected  the  river  with  the 
Red  Sea.  These  are  represented  in  what  is  known 
as  the  "  Expedition  to  Punt "  colonnade,  and  a 
blue  border  beneath  is  zig-zagged  across  to  depict 
water,  in  which  swim  beautifully  drawn  Nile  fish. 
When  these  same  ships  have  reached  the  shores  of 
Punt,  fish  peculiar  to  the  Red  Sea  swim  in  a 
similar  representation  of  water.  Men,  ascending 
the  gangways,  are  shown  carrying  myrrh  trees, 

168 


TEMPLE  OF  SETI  I.  AT  GURNA,  THEBES 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   AMMON 

swung  from  poles  resting  on  their  shoulders,  a 
heavy  cargo  is  already  seen  on  the  decks,  and  some 
apes  are  walking  about  on  the  top  of  this.  The 
structure  and  rigging  of  these  vessels  are  drawn  with 
extraordinary  accuracy.  In  both  cases  the  ships 
overlap  each  other,  the  spacing  of  the  vertical  lines 
of  the  masts  is  well  thought  out  to  enhance  the 
decorative  quality  of  the  reliefs,  and,  where  these 
ships  are  under  sail,  the  pictorial  value  of  the 
curves  of  swelled-out  canvas  is  well  felt.  An 
American  tourist,  who  was  inspecting  these 
inscriptions,  was  very  much  struck  by  a  feature 
in  the  construction  of  these  vessels.  He  said  he 
was  connected  with  yacht  building,  and  he  noticed 
here  a  means  lately  adopted  in  America  to 
strengthen  the  hull,  by  means  of  a  cable  stretched 
tight  along  the  whole  of  its  length.  Bare  spaces  in 
the  background  are  decorated  with  hieroglyphics 
telling  the  story  of  this  expedition. 

The  south  wall  which  forms  the  angle  with  the 
retaining  wall  of  the  terrace  takes  us  into  the  land 
of  Punt.  We  see  here  the  emissaries  of  the  queen 
being  received  by  the  Puntite  ruler  ;  the  stone  de- 
picting his  absurdly  corpulent  wife  is  unfortunately 
not  here,  but  in  the  Cairo  Museum.  Short-horned 
cattle,  intended  as  gifts,  now  follow  ;  and  a  Punt 
village,  with  the  houses  raised  on  piles  in  the  water, 
reaches  to  the  end  of  this  wall.  In  rows  above, 

169 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

natives  are  carrying  incense  trees  towards  the 
ships,  and  their  type,  differing  from  the  Egyptian, 
was  no  doubt  carefully  studied  from  the  few 
Puntites  who  accompanied  the  expedition  back  to 
Thebes.  Many  stones  in  this  wall  are  missing,  and 
are  in  different  collections  in  Europe  ;  their  in- 
terest there,  as  broken  and  disconnected  fragments, 
is  slight  compared  to  what  it  would  be  if  placed 
in  their  proper  setting  here.  More  has  probably 
been  done  in  one  century  by  these  collections  to 
rob  the  ancient  monuments  of  Egypt  of  their 
decorations  than  has  been  done  by  the  Moham- 
medans during  the  twelve  centuries  they  have  been 
in  this  country. 

The  colour  in  parts  has  almost  disappeared  as 
portions  of  these  walls  were  for  a  long  time  exposed 
to  the  weather,  and  though  rain  is  of  rare  occur- 
rence, during  so  long  a  lapse  of  time  enough  would 
have  fallen  to  wash  away  some  of  the  pigments. 
But  where  a  protecting  drift  of  sand  has  acted  as  a 
shelter  the  colour  is  still  quite  fresh.  The  red  and 
yellow  ochres  have  stood  the  light,  but  are  in 
places  worn  away  by  the  sand  that  has  been  blown 
against  the  walls.  The  blacks  have  entirely  gone 
where  they  have  been  exposed  for  years  to  the 
sun,  and  the  blues  and  greens  have  gone  in  most 
places,  save  in  the  deep  cuttings. 

Where  these  paintings  have  been  protected  from 

170 


THE    TEMPLE    OF   AMMON 

rain,  sun,  and  more  or  less  from  the  wind,  they 
have  all  the  freshness  of  colour  they  had  3500  years 
ago,  when  the  artists  in  Hatshepsu's  employ  were 
adorning  her  sanctuary. 

There  appears  to  have  been  but  little  mixture  of 
pigments.  A  flat,  conventional  tint  would  be  laid 
on  each  object  represented  by  the  relief,  without 
attempting  any  realisation  of  the  exact  hue,  but 
these  colours  were  so  disposed  over  the  whole  wall 
as  to  make  a  very  handsome  decoration.  A  frag- 
ment, where  neither  sun,  rain,  nor  any  other 
cause  has  subdued  the  crude  pigments,  is  often  un- 
beautiful  in  itself,  but  as  a  part  of  a  large  decorative 
scheme  it  could  not  be  bettered  ;  and  often  these 
causes  of  deterioration  have  so  blended  the  colours 
of  an  individual  stone  that  it  has  become  an  object 
of  extreme  beauty. 

It  would  indeed  be  a  graceful  act  if  any  owners 
of  the  missing  portions  of  the  wall  representing  the 
Land  of  Punt  were  to  return  these  to  their  original 
setting.  The  writer  would  willingly  supply  them 
with  a  cast  of  the  same,  coloured  so  that  none  but 
an  expert  would  know  the  difference,  and  he  feels 
sure  that  Mr.  Weigall  would  be  only  too  happy  to 
restore  the  originals  to  the  blanks  upon  the  wall  to 
which  they  by  right  belong.  Mr.  Somers  Clarke, 
the  honorary  architect  to  the  Egyptian  Exploration 
Fund,  has  reconstructed  the  missing  portions  of  the 

171 


BELOW  THE    CATARACTS 

colonnading  that  shelters  these  unique  reliefs,  and 
Mr.  Howard  Carter  spent  two  years  in  carrying  out 
this  work  of  preservation.  More  remains  to  be 
done  to  protect  the  reliefs  still  exposed  to  the 
weather  on  the  third  terrace,  but  I  hear  that  this 
work  is  to  be  shortly  taken  in  hand. 


172 


THE  SECOND  COURT  AT  MEDINET  HABU 


^""  ~Ti**«*f« 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AMONG    THE    TEMPLES 

IN  the  space  covered  by  these  two  temples  at 
Der  el-Bahri  the  art  and  life  of  this  ^interesting 
people  can  be  studied  as  it  extended  over  a  period 
of  3000  years.  Senmut,  the  architect  of  this 
temple  of  Hatshepsu,  was  not  able  to  bring  the 
work  to  completion  before  the  Queen  died,  and  as 
a  partisan  of  his  employer,  he  probably  had  to  fly 
from  the  scene  of  his  operations  when  Thothmes 
III.  again  took  the  reins  of  government  in  his  hands. 
Restorations  were  carried  out  during  the  following 
dynasty  under  Ramses  II.,  showing  a  distinct 
decline  in  the  art.  A  sanctuary  on  the  upper 
terrace  was  added  during  the  Ptolemies,  and  we 
are  able  to  compare  this  later  work  with  that  of 
the  eighteenth  dynasty.  The  nature  of  the  sand- 
stone of  which  it  is  built  may,  to  a  certain  extent, 
account  for  the  coarser  cutting  of  the  reliefs,  but 
the  treatment  of  the  figures,  though  Greek  rather 
than  Egyptian,  shows  a  marked  falling  off  from  the 

'73 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

high  level  that  art  had  reached  in  the  earlier  period. 
A  distinctly  Greek  influence  is  visible  in  the 
architectural  design  of  the  sanctuary,  as  in  all  the 
monuments  remaining  of  the  Ptolemaic  times  ; 
and  this  is  possibly  an  advance.  It  looks  as  though 
the  architects  had  learnt  their  art  in  Greece,  and 
had  confided  the  carrying  out  of  the  decoration  to 
workmen  who  had  lost  the  inspiration  of  their  native 
art  yet  had  not  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  Grecian. 

This  same  sanctuary  became  later  on  the  chapel 
of  an  early  Christian  community,  and  its  walls  and 
roof  are  still  blackened  with  the  smoke  from  the 
altar  candles,  or  the  torches  that  lighted  the 
sanctuary  during  the  celebration  of  the  Mass. 
This  chapel  is  hewn  out  of  the  cliffs,  and  the  sand- 
stone walls  and  roofing  were  evidently  used  to 
withstand  the  downward  pressure  of  the  nummulite 
limestone  above.  There  are  traces  of  the  base 
of  an  altar  in  Hatshepsu's  shrine  of  offerings,  to  the 
left  of  the  sanctuary,  and  in  every  case,  where  the 
heathen  gods  were  not  hidden  by  church  furniture, 
their  faces  have  been  obliterated. 

Walls  rebuilt  by  these  monks  leave  us  speculating 
whether  they  enclosed  dormitories  or  refectory. 
Little  regard  was  shown  for  the  designs  of  the 
ancient  decoration  ;  a  stone  with  beautifully  cut 
head  of  a  Thothmes  would  be  put  upside  down,  if 
it  fitted  into  the  wall  better  that  way ;  and  the  legs 

174 


AMONG   THE   TEMPLES 

of  a  god  may  only  support  a  meat-offering  on  the 
stone  above.  On  spaces  not  covered  with 
hieroglyphics  or  relieved  by  figures,  one  can  find 
sentences  inscribed  in  the  cursive  or  hieratic 
writing,  or  in  the  demotic,  which  is  a  development 
of  the  latter.  An  inscription  in  Greek  characters 
records  a  prayer  to  Aesculapius,  probably  scratched 
here  by  some  workman  brought  over  from  Greece 
during  the  Ptolemies,  while  a  further  interest  is 
given  to  this  stone  by  an  amendment  of  a  Coptic 
monk,  centuries  later,  who,  after  cutting  a  cross 
above  this  prayer,  has  written  underneath — "  No 
one  heals  but  God  himself."  Some  other  Greek 
has  cut  his  high-sounding  name  on  a  stone,  beneath 
which  we  find  "  Crocodilos "  written  in  another 
hand  whose  owner  was  apparently  moved  by  the 
same  spirit  that  we  occasionally  see  evinced  when 
the  name  of  a  Briton,  scratched  on  a  wall,  is 
followed  by — "  is  an  ass,"  written  by  another  in  a 
lighter  mood.  Nineteenth  century  names  are 
happily  rarer  here  than  on  many  monuments  ;  for 
fallen  masses  of  debris,  until  the  century's  close,  had 
preserved  these  remains  from  modern  desecration. 

The  view  from  this  upper  terrace  is  remarkably 
fine.  Standing  with  your  back  to  the  overhanging 
cliffs,  you  look  across  a  mile  of  the  wilderness 
which  forms  a  part  of  the  Theban  necropolis.  The 
fertile  plain,  transversely  cut  by  the  Nile,  is  backed 
in  the  distance  by  the  hills  of  the  Arabian  desert. 

175 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

To  the  right  lie  the  Ramesseum,  with  Seti's 
temple  to  the  left,  while,  across  the  river,  and  near 
its  banks,  stand  the  great  colonnades  of  Luxor  and 
the  huge  pylon  of  Karnak. 

In  1894-95  the  entire  temple  was  exhumed  by 
Professor  Naville,  who  gave  his  services,  the 
Egyptian  Exploration  Fund  defraying  the  cost  of 
the  work. 

Most  of  my  assistants  in  the  casting  of  Punt 
increased  in  knowledge,  and  those  who  proved 
too  stupid  to  learn  returned  to  the  "  dust,"  as  they 
termed  the  excavations.  One  of  the  remaining 
men  showed  an  especial  aptitude,  which  bespoke 
long  practice  in  the  manufacture  of  fakes — im- 
postures— now  treasured  by  many  a  tourist  as  gems 
picked  up  by  good  luck  from  an  Arab  who  had  got 
them,  "  we  won't  say  how  !  "  (a  wink  here  from  the 
tourist).  This  man  spoke  a  few  words  of  English, 
which  I  allowed  him  to  air.  I  have  forgotten  his 
name,  but  his  solemnly  calling  out — "  Tyndale, 
Koom  !  "  whenever  he  wished  me  to  come  and  see 
his  work,  obtained  him  the  name  of  "  Tyndale 
Koom  "  ;  and  as  such  I  can  only  remember  him. 
Be  it  explained  that  it  was  not  in  undue  familiarity 
that  I  was  so  addressed  ;  for,  except  when  such 
titles  a;  Bey  or  Pasha  had  been  acquired,  this  rather 
servile  creature  would  have  addressed  any  of  his 
co-religionists,  whatever  their  position  might  be, 
by  the  name  their  parents  had  given  them. 

176 


TEMPLE  OF  DER  EL-MEDINET  AT  THEBES 


AMONG    THE   TEMPLES 

My  next  most  important  helper  was  an  ex-donkey 
boy,  who  had  forsaken  that  calling  on  the  demise  of 
his  beast.  After  him  in  order  of  intelligence,  I 
had  an  ex-convict  ;  a  taciturn  individual, — which 
quality  was  a  comfort, — and  a  steady  worker.  I  was 
informed  that  he  had  killed  someone  in  a  fit  of  rage, 
but  that,  if  one  knew  him,  he  was  not  a  bad  man. 
It  behoved  me  therefore  not  to  excite  his  rage,  and, 
as  he  did  not  chatter  like  the  others,  he  never 
excited  mine.  One  or  two  boys  were  there,  either 
to  prepare  the  wax  or  to  run  errands,  but  the 
necessity  for  these  was  a  nuisance,  for  I  was  in 
constant  fear  lest  they  might  damage  the  walls. 

A  very  important  assistant  was  one  whom  we 
kept  down  at  the  hut,  who  took  the  casts  from  the 
impressions.  These  were  hard  to  get  right,  for 
we  none  of  us  had  had  much  experience  in  handling 
plaster  of  Paris.  The  colouring  of  the  casts  took 
less  time  than  preparing  them,  so  I  was  able  to 
devote  some  of  my  leisure  to  my  water-colour 
work.  The  little  Ptolemaic  temple  at  Der  el- 
Medineh,  hidden  in  some  folds  of  the  desert  hills 
a  mile  south  of  our  valley,  was  a  subject  I  espe- 
cially loved  to  paint.  The  Arabic  "  Der  "  signifies 
a  convent,  and  this  temple  bears  traces  of  the 
Coptic  monks  who  once  dwelt  here.  It  was  built 
in  honour  of  Hathor,  the  goddess  of  the  dead,  and 
was  also  dedicated  to  the  goddess  Maat.  Although 

I77  N 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

the  inscriptions  are  far  inferior  to  those  at  Der  el- 
Bahri,  the  interior  lends  itself  to  pictorial  treat- 
ment perhaps  better  than  any  part  of  its  far-famed 
neighbour.  The  calyx-headed  columns  and  the 
Hathor  capitals  of  the  piers,  with  the  doorway  of 
the  sanctuary,  compose  beautifully  in  certain  lights. 
Traces  of  colour  are  left  upon  these  capitals  and 
on  the  winged  sun-disc  over  the  door. 

Ptolemaic  temples  have  one  great  advantage 
over  the  earlier  ones,  and  that  is,  that  they  are  in 
a  much  better  state  of  preservation  ;  in  fact,  some 
can  hardly  be  called  ruins.  Save  the  furniture, 
which  is  now  mostly  in  museums,  the  temples  of 
Dendera,  Esneh,  and  Edfu  stand  to-day  very  much 
as  they  were  when  first  erected.  For  grandeur  they 
may  bear  the  relation  to  the  earlier  work  that  a 
live  mouse  does  to  a  dead  lion  ;  but  it  is  something 
to  be  alive  ! 

There  is  much  to  paint  at  Medinet  Habu,  a 
mile  further  south.  The  twentieth  dynasty  decora- 
tions in  the  great  temple  of  Ramses  III.  look 
extremely  coarse  after  the  delicate  reliefs  at  Der  el- 
Bahri  ;  but  so  many  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty 
inscriptions  had  been  scraped  off  by  rival  factions 
or  succeeding  Pharaohs,  that  Ramses  III.  was 
determined  that  his  should  survive.  I  was  at  some 
pains  to  take  measurements  of  the  earlier  reliefs, 
and  I  could  hardly  realise  how  shallow  these  were. 


AMONG   THE   TEMPLES 

In  the  Punt  series,  where  the  background  is  cut 
away,  the  modelling  and  relief  of  the  figures  are 
given  in  a  depth  that  never  exceeds  ^th  of  an 
inch.  The  smaller  figures  are  not  relieved  by 
more  than  ^nd  of  an  inch,  and  sometimes  less.  The 
larger  figures  on  some  of  the  columns  are  not 
relieved  from  the  background,  but  their  outlines 
are  incised.  Bold  as  these  outlines  look,  I  found  that 
they  never  exceeded  ^th  of  an  inch  in  depth,  and 
the  beautiful  modelling  of  these  figures  is  all  within 
that  depth,  as  I  proved  by  using  a  straight  edge 
across  the  face  of  the  column.  The  reliefs  of  Seti  I. 
are  slightly  higher  at  his  temple  at  Abydos,  and  I 
can  recall  no  work  in  relief  of  the  time  of 
Ramses  II.,  but  only  incised  inscriptions,  which 
seemed  to  deepen  during  his  long  reign.  By  the 
time  of  Ramses  III.  I  found  these  incisions  had 
reached  a  depth  of  from  four  to  five  inches.  The 
restorations  of  Ramses  II.  at  Der  el-Bahri  are  in 
relief,  but  it  was  more  in  imitation  of  that  of  his 
predecessor  than  quite  typical  of  his  own  time. 
The  coarser  surface  of  the  stone  and  the  larger  scale 
of  the  building  might  account  to  some  extent  for  the 
inscriptions  being  cut  deeper;  but  the  fear  of 
erasure  must  have  chiefly  led  to  this.  A 
palimpsest — that  is,  an  inscription  cut  over  another 
— would  be  very  difficult  where  the  outline  of  a 
hieroglyph  is  nearly  five  inches  deep  and  two 

179  N  2 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

inches  wide  at  the  surface.  In  the  eighteenth 
dynasty  bold  relief  or  deep  incision  was  under- 
stood, but  was  only  used  where  an  effect  to  be 
seen  from  a  distance  was  sought.  The  bas-relief 
seems  to  have  disappeared  for  a  while  after  the 
reign  of  Seti  I.  I  found  it  again  at  Karnak  in  a 
modest  little  temple  of  the  twenty-fifth  dynasty, 
and,  though  cut  on  sandstone,  the  modelling  was 
extremely  beautiful,  for  a  revival  in  art  had  then 
set  in,  which,  however,  declined  during  the  Persian 
domination.  Coarse  as  the  decoration  may  be  in 
the  actual  cutting,  the  design  is  often  very  grand  ; 
there  is  a  swing-and-go  about  the  great  battle 
scenes  which  cover  some  walls  that  is  amazing.  Art 
seemed  to  be  making  a  heroic  struggle  for  life 
before  her  decline  in  the  next  reign.  Space  does 
not  allow  me  to  enter  more  fully  into  these  stirring 
representations,  but  in  his  History  of  Egypt  Pro- 
fessor Breasted  graphically  places  before  his 
readers  these  records  of  an  eventful  reign  which 
Ramses  III.  had  inscribed  on  his  great  temple. 

Passing  out  through  the  massive  pylon  we  find 
on  our  left  a  series  of  small  temples  that  carries  us 
from  the  reign  of  Hatshepsu  right  up  to  one  of 
the  later  Ptolemies  ;  a  period  of  fourteen  centuries. 
Not  a  great  lapse  of  time  in  the  history  of  Egypt, 
but  one  that  would  in  ours  take  us  back  to  the 
Heptarchy.  The  walls  of  Hatshepsu's  temple 

180 


IN  THE  TEMPLE  OF  RAMSES  III.,  MEDINET  HABU 


AMONG   THE   TEMPLES 

bear  witness  to  her  feuds  with  father,  husband,  and 
brother,  and  over  her  effaced  pictures  are  inscribed 
the  figures,  or  cartouches,  of  the  three  Thothmes. 
Possibly  these  served  as  a  lesson  to  Ramses  III. 
when  he  had  the  walls  of  his  temple  inscribed  so 
deeply.  We  pass  on  through  a  pylon  erected  by 
Taharqa  of  the  twenty-fifth  dynasty — the  Tirharkah 
of  the  Bible — and  we  enter  a  delightful  little 
chapel  of  Nektanebos,  the  last  Pharaoh  of  the 
last  dynasty  (thirtieth).  Eight  clustered  papyrus 
columns  with  budded  capitals  once  supported  the 
roof;  two  only  now  stand  in  their  entirety. 
These  columns,  connected  by  a  stone  screen  and 
backed  by  the  Taharqa  pylon,  make  a  charming 
group  from  outside,  while  the  great  pylon  of  the 
tenth  Ptolemy  leads  us  into  a  colonnaded  vestibule, 
and  a  large  courtyard  ends  this  series  of  temples. 

That  this  work  of  both  Nektanebos  and  the 
Ptolemy  were  done  after  some  of  Ramses'  great 
structure  had  fallen  in  partial  ruin,  is  evidenced  by 
its  being  carried  right  across  the  inner  and  outer  en- 
closing walls  of  the  temple  area  ;  it  also  encroaches 
on  a  part  of  the  site  of  Ramses'  pavilion.  This 
pavilion,  of  which  the  central  part  only  remains, 
forms  the  great  entrance  to  the  temple  area.  It  is 
not  a  structure  of  great  beauty,  but  it  is  very  in- 
teresting, as  being  the  only  standing  remains  of  a 
secular  building  of  any  importance. 

181 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

As  the  later  temples  arose,  so  the  earlier  ones 
declined,  if  they  were  not  actually  in  use.  A  quarry 
so  near  at  hand,  with  ready  cut  stones,  was  too 
tempting  not  to  be  made  use  of  ;  and  inscriptions 
of  the  earlier  temples  can  be  traced  on  blocks  of 
stone  used  in  the  later  ones.  It  is  strange  that  the 
ruins  of  the  Christian  village,  east  of  the  great 
temple,  should  show  only  crumbling  walls  of  mud 
brick.  The  village  church  stood  in  the  centre  of 
the  second  court,  and  this  also  was  built  of  this 
poor  material,  when  so  much  dressed  stone  lay  all 
around. 

The  magnificent  Amenhotep  III.  built  his 
sumptuous  palace  near  these  temples  of  Medinet 
Habu,  but  hardly  a  trace  of  this  now  remains  ;  it 
had  probably  fallen  into  ruin  when  Ramses  III. 
was  erecting  his  great  temple.  That  "  this  world 
is  no  abiding  city  "  was  more  than  a  mere  phrase 
in  Pharaonic  times  is  here  exemplified,  for  amongst 
the  numerous  dwelling  places  prepared  for  the  dead, 
or  dedicated  to  the  gods,  nothing  now  remains 
standing  of  what  was  inhabited  by  the  living.  The 
great  palaces  that  must  have  existed  in  Thebes, 
both  to  house  the  kings  and  the  great  nobles,  were 
all  built  of  mud-bricks,  durable  enough  for  a  life- 
time, but  leaving  nothing  but  some  fragments  of 
pavement  by  which  posterity  can  judge  of  their 
splendours.  Fortunately,  we  find  some  records  of 

182 


AMONG    THE    TEMPLES 

these  habitations  on  the  walls  of  the  tombs  and  the 
temples  ;  and  specimens  of  the  furniture,  housed 
in  the  lasting  abodes  of  the  dead,  give  us  some  idea 
of  the  daily  life  of  these  people. 

The  pavilion  of  Ramses  III.,  part  of  which  we 
have  now  seen,  suggests  a  fortress  more  than  a 
palace,  and  that  warrior  king  possibly  built  it  in 
stone  for  strategic  reasons  rather  than  as  a  tem- 
porary residence. 


"83 


CHAPTER   XV 
THE  TOMB  OF  QUEEN  TYI 

CHRISTMAS  had  passed,  but  the  sing-song  and 
dust  behind  the  Mentuhotep  temple  showed  that 
the  work  there  was  still  in  full  swing.  The  great 
shaft  was  not  yet  cleared,  and  with  every  ton  of 
debris  that  was  thrown  out  we  heard  some  fresh 
theory.  My  own  humble  suggestion  that  it  was 
probably  a  sewer,  and  that  the  find  might  prove  to 
be  a  dynastic  cesspool,  was  received  with  all  the 
contempt  that  it  deserved.  The  interest  in  what 
might  happen  at  the  dig  in  the  next  valley  had 
gone  down  to  zero.  "  Oh,  just  turning  over 
rubbish  that  has  been  sifted  over  and  over  again  !  " 
"  It  will  keep  them  amused,  and  Weigall  will  see 
that  they  do  no  mischief,"  were  the  expressions 
of  thoughts  more  consoling  to  the  thinker  than 
satisfying  to  my  curiosity.  This  valley  of  the 
tombs  of  the  kings  ;  the  mystery  of  which 
thousands  of  tourists,  picnickers,  and  the  electric 
light  had  not  been  able  to  destroy  ;  a  spot  that  I 

184 


THE   PTOLEMAIC  PYLON,  MEDINET  HABU 


THE   TOMB    OF   QUEEN   TYI 

was  daily  longing  to  revisit,  would  but  this  work  on 
Punt  allow  me  the  leisure,  must  surely  yet  contain 
many  secrets  that  pick  and  shovel,  ably  directed, 
might  at  any  time  divulge.  News  travels  with 
amazing  speed  in  the  East,  and  tidings  of  a  find 
there  would  not  take  long  to  cross  the  mountain 
that  separates  Der  el-Bahri  from  the  Biban  el- 
Muluk.  Ayrton,  let  him  do  his  work  ever  so 
quietly,  could  not  stop  a  thousand  native  tongues 
from  wagging  ;  and  wag  they  did,  to  great 
purpose,  one  fine  morning.  The  very  air  seemed 
thick  with  news  !  News  that  Ayrton  was  knee- 
deep  in  gold  and  precious  stones,  feverishly  filling 
empty  petroleum  tins,  pickle  pots  and  cans  from 
Chicago,  with  the  spoil,  was  the  very  least  that 
one's  imagination  could  conjure  up.  The  work  on 
Punt  went  leisurely  that  day,  for  "  Tyndale  Koom," 
Ahmet,  and  even  the  silent  ex-convict,  were 
chattering  all  the  time.  "  Oh,  shut  up,  and  get 
on  with  your  work  !  "  from  me  would  quiet  them 
for  a  bit,  and  whisperings  would  be  exchanged 
instead  of  loud  arguments.  Needless  to  say  the 
archaeological  value  of  the  find  did  not  interest 
them  in  the  least.  That  every  one  connected  with 
these  excavations  is  doing  it  simply  for  the  plunder, 
is  a  rooted  idea  in  the  native  mind  which  neither 
proof  nor  argument  can  disturb.  That  the  share 
of  spoil  which  "Mistrr  Davis"  or  "  Mistrr  Eirton  " 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

would  get  would  allow  them  to  retire,  sip  coffee 
and  play  backgammon  for  the  rest  of  their  lives, 
was  what  exercised  their  minds,  and  possibly  roused 
a  good  deal  of  secret  resentment — that  these  dogs 
of  Christians  should  be  permitted  to  carry  off  what 
Allah  had  clearly  intended  should  fall  to  the  lot  of 
the  true  believer  !  These  sentiments  would  only 
be  expressed  when  I  was  out  of  hearing,  for  I  had 
had  some  influence  in  getting  the  Mudir  to  increase 
their  wages,  and  had  put  in  a  word  for  them  when 
baksheesh  was  to  be  distributed. 

One  thing,  however,  was  certain,  the  tomb  of 
Queen  Tyi  had  been  found  and  opened.  The 
massive  limestone  cliffs  that  form  the  barrier 
between  the  two  digs  might  have  been  but  a  gauze 
curtain,  so  marvellously  we  heard  of  our  neighbours' 
doings.  Mr.  Theodore  Davis  had  ridden  over 
from  his  dahabiyeh  ;  the  Bash  Moufetish,  with  his 
e  wakeel '  and  extra  guards,  had  arrived  ;  telegrams 
had  been  dispatched  to  M.  Maspero  ;  a  special 
artist  was  on  the  spot,  and  a  photographer  had  been 
summoned  from  Cairo.  The  arrival  of  our  friend 
Ayrton,  when  the  day's  work  was  over,  cleared  the 
air.  His  face  bore  the  expression  of  a  gentle 
angler  who,  having  landed  a  big  fish,  joins  his 
companions  who  have  done  no  more  than  lose 
their  tackle.  He  might  well  feel  pleased,  for,  when 
we  learnt  the  full  truth,  it  was  evident  that  his  find 

186 


THE   TOMB    OF   QUEEN   TYI 

was  one  of  the  most  dramatic  for  a  good  many  years. 
He  told  us  that  the  tomb  had  certainly  been  opened 
since  first  Queen  Tyi  had  been  laid  to  rest  there  ; 
but  there  was  evidence  that  this  had  not  been  done 
for  plunder,  as  no  valuables  had  been  abstracted, 
but  some  hieroglyphs  referring  to  the  heresy  which 
she  had  fostered  and  her  son  had  tried  to  establish, 
had  been  effaced.  It  seemed  evident  that  this  had 
been  done  but  a  few  years  after  the  Queen's  death, 
and  that  after  the  priests  of  Ammon  had  satisfied 
their  religious  zeal,  and  had  repaired  the  breach 
they  had  made  in  the  wall,  Tyi  had  slept  undis- 
turbed for  over  three  thousand  years.  A  landslip 
from  the  mountain  in  whose  bosom  she  lay  had 
protected  her  from  the  plunder  of  the  Roman,  the 
fanaticism  of  the  early  Christians,  and  the  greed  of 
the  Arabs,  but  had  now  failed  to  conceal  her  resting- 
place  from  the  Egyptologist. 

The  talk  of  Queen  Tyi,  of  her  son  Akhnaton,  and 
the  religious  revolution  of  their  times,  was  the 
absorbing  topic  of  that  evening.  It  was  disap- 
pointing to  hear  that  we  should  not  be  allowed  to 
see  the  tomb  for  some  days,  as  the  photographer 
was  away  from  Cairo,  and  nothing  could  be  touched 
until  careful  photographs  had  been  taken  of  every- 
thing in  the  position  in  which  it  had  been  found. 
The  fear,  also,  of  what  might  happen  during  that 
time  was  considerable  ;  for  though  objects  may 

187 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

remain  intact  for  centuries  in  the  equable  tempera- 
ture of  a  rock  tomb  ;  they  may  crumble  into  dust 
when  touched,  or  even  when  merely  exposed  to  the 
more  variable  outside  atmosphere.  These  fears  were 
to  a  certain  extent  justified,  as  we  shall  see  later  on. 

A  week  elapsed  before  any  one,  except  those 
immediately  concerned,  was  allowed  to  visit  the 
tomb.  An  American  artist,  J.  Lindon  Smith,  who 
was  commissioned  to  paint  the  interior  with  its 
valuable  contents,  would  drop  in  at  our  camp  on 
his  way  back  to  Luxor,  and  excite  our  curiosity  to 
a  yet  higher  pitch  by  telling  us  of  his  day's  work. 
Long  hours  spent  in  this  death-chamber  had  not 
damped  his  spirits,  for  he  was  one  of  the  most 
amusing  companions  it  has  been  my  good  fortune 
to  meet.  Four  fine  canopic  jars  had  been  found, 
portraits  of  the  Queen  forming  their  stoppers  ; 
also  a  box  of  beautiful  blue  glazed  toilet  ornaments. 

Before  we  visit  the  mortal  remains  of  this  romantic 
queen,  it  will  be  of  interest  to  some  who  are  not 
well  versed  in  Egyptian  history,  to  get  some  idea 
of  the  important  role  she  played  during  the 
eighteenth  Dynasty,  when  the  Empire  had  reached 
the  zenith  of  its  power.  Unlike  her  predecessor, 
Hatshepsu,  she  was  of  unknown  birth,  and  it  is 
stated  that  she  was  not  an  Egyptian,  but  there 
seems  little  authority  for  this.  She  married  the 
young  Pharaoh,  Amenhotep  III.,  about  the  time  of 


THE  WELL,  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  THE  TOMBS  OF  THE 

KINGS 


FTT  or  a  AC 


THE   TOMB    OF   QUEEN   TYI 

his  accession,  and  this  magnificent  prince  leaves 
many  records  which  declare  her  to  be  the  "  Queen 
Consort  "  ;  and  the  royal  titulary  closes  with  these 
words  :  "  She  is  the  wife  of  a  Mighty  King,  whose 
southern  boundary  is  as  far  as  Karoy  and  northern 
as  far  as  Naharin."  As  Breasted  remarks  in  his 
History  of  Egypt :  "  it  was  as  if  to  remind  any  who 
might  reflect  on  the  humble  origin  of  the  Queen  of 
the  exalted  station  she  now  occupied."  Thothmes 
III.  and  his  two  warrior  successors  had  consolidated 
the  Empire  over  which  Amenhotep  was  born  to 
rule  ;  highly  cultured,  and  with  a  full  treasury  at 
his  command,  this  Amenhotep  made  Thebes  the 
greatest  capital  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Nothing 
now  remains  of  his  great  palace  save  some  fragments 
scattered  about  in  the  different  museums  ;  a  few 
stones  mark  the  site  of  his  mortuary  temple  ;  and 
the  Colossi  have  been  so  ill-used  by  time  that  one  is 
impressed  by  little  more  than  their  stupendous  size. 

Of  still  standing  monuments,  the  large  temple  of 
Luxor  gives  one  the  best  idea  of  what  great  things 
were  done  during  this  reign.  The  architect, 
Amenhotep,  son  of  Hapi,  was  known  to  the 
Greeks  twelve  centuries  later  ;  and  the  wisdom  of 
his  sayings  are  quoted  in  The  Proverbs  of  the  Seven 
Wise  Men.  His  striking  portrait  may  be  seen  in 
the  Cairo  Museum. 

Contrary    to  the  customs  of    the    country,  the 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

queen  took  a  prominent  part  both  in  state  and 
religious  ceremonials,  and  it  is  curious  to  think  of 
this  delicately-made,  dainty  little  woman,  suggest- 
ing a  creation  of  Botticelli,  watching  these  religious 
rites  whilst  she  secretly  fostered  a  heresy  that  was 
to  cause  the  downfall  of  this  great  Empire  during 
the  reign  of  her  son.  The  causes  that  led  to 
this  reformation  are  not  recorded,  the  priests  of 
Ammon,  who  were  all-powerful,  were  not  likely 
to  advertise  the  discontent  that  may  have  been  felt, 
and  if  the  Augurs  laughed,  they  laughed  in  secret. 
Her  influence  may  have  been  felt  by  her  husband, 
but  it  was  everything  to  her  son  ;  and  it  was 
left  to  this  youth,  when  he  succeeded  his  father, 
to  wage  war  against  the  power  of  the  priesthood 
and  boldly  to  declare  the  existence  of  one  Supreme 
Being,  whose  physical  manifestation  was  the  sun- 
disc.  His  very  name,  Amenhotep  IV.,  became 
impossible  to  him  ; — "  Ammon  rests  " — how  could 
he  be  called  this  when  he  was  effacing  the  name 
of  Ammon  from  the  walls  of  every  temple  and 
was  building  a  shrine  to  the  new  god  Aton  ? 
"  Akh  en-Aton,"  meaning  "  Spirit  of  Aton," 
should  be  his  name  from  henceforth.  For  six 
years  he  struggled  to  stamp  out  the  worship  of 
Ammon,  but  the  links  with  the  past  were  too 
strong  in  Thebes  to  be  easily  broken.  With  his 
mother  and  the  priest,  Eye,  who  had  ever  encour 

190 


THE   TOMB    OF   QUEEN   TYI 

aged  his  reforming  zeal,  he  set  out  to  build  a  new 
capital,  which  he  would  dedicate  to  Aton.  He 
chose  a  site  some  three  hundred  miles  below 
Thebes,  now  known  as  Tell  el-Amarna,  but  which 
he  called  "  Akhetaten,"  "  Horizon  of  Aton." 
Here  it  appears  he  lived  for  the  rest  of  his  life, 
like  the  Pope  in  the  Vatican,  not  willing  to  set 
foot  on  any  land  that  was  not  specially  dedicated 
to  his  god.  Tribute  soon  ceased  to  come  in 
from  his  Asiatic  provinces,  and  at  the  close  of 
his  reign  the  Empire  had  dwindled  down  to  that 
portion  which  is  watered  by  the  Nile.  He  left 
no  sons,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son-in-law, 
Sakere,  of  whom  little  is  known.  Another  son- 
in-law,  Twet-ankh-Amon,  succeeded  the  former 
one,  and  after  a  while  compromised  with  the 
priests  of  Ammon  and  returned  to  Thebes,  which 
for  twenty  years  had  seen  no  Pharaoh.  It  was 
probably  during  this  reign,  when  the  cult  of 
Ammon  was  restored,  that  Queen  Tyi's  tomb  was 
entered  and  every  reference  to  the  accursed  Aton 
was  obliterated. 

The  time  at  last  arrived  when  we  were  allowed 
to  see  this  queen  before  her  bejewelled  mummy- 
case  should  be  sent  to  Cairo  and  her  bones  once 
more  walled  up  in  her  niche  at  the  foot  of  the 
overhanging  cliff.  My  friends,  Mr.  Henry  Holi- 
day, Miss  Mothersole,  and  I  were  the  favoured 

191 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

ones  that  morning.  We  were  not  long  in  climbing 
the  mountain  and  descending  into  the  valley  of 
the  Tombs  of  the  Kings.  A  couple  of  trousered 
policemen  keeping  guard  indicated  the  spot  we 
were  seeking  ;  and  when  satisfied  that  we  were 
friends  of  the  "  Hawaga "  we  were  conducted 
down  a  slope  that  led  to  the  newly-opened  chamber. 
On  peeping  in  my  first  impressions  were  those  of 
surprise  at  the  incongruity  of  the  scene  that  I 
then  beheld.  An  athletic  and  beflannelled  young 
Englishman,  with  the  aid  of  an  electric  burner 
and  surrounded  by  tin  cigarette  boxes,  was  sorting 
precious  stones  ;  the  light  which  caused  the  glitter 
on  these  fell  also  on  a  part  of  the  whited  walls  of 
this  sepulchre,  and  the  grim  shadow  that  our 
friend  cast  might  have  been  that  of  a  ghoul  or  a 
priest  of  Ammon.  Gold  and  white  were  the  prevail- 
ing colours  of  all  -that  caught  the  electric  rays,  and 
at  the  first  glance  it  looked  more  like  a  wrecked 
boudoir  of  Napoleonic  times  than  a  mysterious 
abode  of  the  dead. 

These  reflections  were  of  short  duration,  for  the 
handful  of  stones  were  soon  stowed  away  :  half 
moon-shaped  bits  of  lapis-lazuli  in  a  box  of 
"  Egyptian  Beauties,"  cornelian  and  turquoise  re- 
spectively in  tins  from  Demetrius  or  Nestor 
Genakalis  ;  and  Ayrton  hastened  to  welcome  us 
and  to  assist  us  into  the  tomb,  which  was  several 

192 


KHNUM,   KEPR,   RA,  IN  THE  TOMB  OF  SETT  I.  AT 
THEBES 


THE   TOMB    OF   QUEEN   TYI 

feet  lower  than  the  opening  into  it.  We  had  to 
move  with  great  caution,  and  to  be  careful  to 
touch  nothing,  as  most  of  the  furniture  was  so 
brittle  that  a  false  step  might  have  caused  incal- 
culable damage.  The  fallen  canopy  had  so  far 
blocked  our  view  of  the  mummy-case.  A  safe 
place  being  found  where  we  could  stand  without 
injuring  anything,  the  light  was  shifted,  and  there 
before  us  lay  the  effigy  of  Tyi.  It  was  the  most 
thrilling  sight  I  ever  beheld.  Arrayed  as  she 
might  have  been  when  Amenhotep  the  Magnifi- 
cent led  her  to  the  marriage  feast,  there  she  lay, 
with  arms  folded,  and  that  immovable  expression 
on  her  face  which  the  contemplation  of  the  vanity 
of  all  things  might  have  produced.  Dazzled  by  the 
splendour  of  this  sight  I  did  not  at  first  notice 
that  the  side  of  the  coffin  had  fallen  out,  and  that 
alongside  this  gorgeous  effigy  lay  the  real  body  of 
the  queen.  Her  dried-up  face,  sunken  cheeks,  and 
thin,  leathery-looking  lips,  exposing  a  few  teeth, 
were  in  ghastly  contrast  to  the  golden  diadem 
which  encircled  her  head  and  the  gold  necklace 
that  partially  hid  her  shrunken  throat.  Her  body 
was  wrapped  in  thin  gold  plate,  but  this  being 
broken  and  torn  made  it  yet  more  horrible  to  look 
at.  An  uncomfortable  feeling  that  it  was  un- 
chivalrous  to  stare  at  the  poor  creature  when  she 
was  looking  so  far  from  her  best  brought  me 

193  o 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

back  to  her  effigy  on  the  mummy-case  with  a 
mental  apology  that  I  regretted  having  taken  her 
unawares,  and  would  in  future  only  think  of  her 
as  she  appeared  in  all  her  glory. 

Now,  the  reason  why  the  body  lay  outside  the 
coffin  requires  a  word  of  explanation.  This  heavy 
case  had  rested  on  a  beautiful  trestle,  surmounted 
by  a  gilded  canopy,  but,  at  some  unknown  period, 
one  of  the  carved  legs  of  this  trestle  had  given 
way,  the  coffin  had  fallen  on  the  floor  with 
sufficient  force  to  burst  the  side  of  it,  and  the 
mummy  had  rolled  out.  Sic  transit  gloria  mundi  ! 

Before  this  book  is  in  print  nearly  all  the 
contents  of  Tyi's  tomb  will  have  been  ticketed 
and  catalogued  for  the  inspection  of  the  next 
season's  crop  of  tourists  when  their  dragoman 
shows  them  round  the  Cairo  Museum.  The 
queen  herself  will,  I  am  glad  to  say,  not  be  there. 
While  everything  that  had  any  archaeological  or 
artistic  value  was  being  carried  down  to  Mr.  Davis' 
dahabiyeh,  I  learnt  that  the  body  itself  was  not  to 
be  removed,  and  that  the  tomb  would  be  again 
walled  up.  Though  shorn  of  every  emblem  of 
royalty,  may  she  sleep  as  peacefully  for  the  next 
three  thousand  years  as  she  has  slept  since  the 
priests  of  Ammon  disturbed  her  sacred  rest  ! 

I  wrote  the  above  account  while  the  excitement 

194 


THE   TOMB    OF   QUEEN   TYI 

of  this  dramatic  find  was  filling  our  minds,  and 
while  our  enthusiasm  was  untroubled  by  any  doubts 
as  to  its  authenticity.  I  will  let  it  stand  ;  for  first 
impressions  have  a  freshness  which  no  subsequent 
remembered  sensations  can  hope  to  possess. 

But  a  sad  disillusionment  was  in  store.  Since 
I  left  Egypt  this  interesting  mummy  has  been 
examined  by  expert  surgeons  in  addition  to  the 
Egyptologists,  and  the  skeleton  has  proved  to  be 
that  of  a  young  man  of  from  twenty-five  to  twenty- 
six  years  of  age. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  furniture  of  the 
sepulchre  is  that  of  the  tomb  of  Queen  Tyi,  but 
where  her  bones  now  rest  and  who  this  young  man 
is  who  has  usurped  her  place  are  problems  which 
remain  unsolved.  It  seems  scarcely  possible  that 
these  are  the  mortal  remains  of  Ikhnaton  brought 
here  from  Tel-el-Amarna  to  lie  near  his  forefathers. 
His  eventful  reign  could  hardly  have  ended  when 
he  was  but  twenty-five  years  old.  Will  further 
evidence  come  to  light  of  the  doings  of  the  priests 
of  Ammon  when  they  opened  the  sepulchre  and 
erased  the  hated  name  of  Aton  ?  Or  was  this  a 
mock  burial  of  the  queen  whose  body  may  have 
been  taken  to  her  son's  city  of  Akhetaton  to  be 
safe  from  the  desecrating  hands  of  the  priests  ? 

We  must  leave  these  questions  unanswered  and 
return  to  the  dig  at  the  Mentuhotep  temple. 

195  O    2 


CHAPTER   XVI 

THE  MENTUHOTEP  TEMPLE 

TOWARDS  the  close  of  the  first  month  of  1907 
the  bottom  of  the  shaft  was  reached,  and,  600 
feet  from  the  entrance,  it  led  into  the  mortuary 
chamber.  Recessed  into  the  left  wall  stood  the 
resting-place  of  the  mummy.  This  formed  a  small 
inner  chamber  high  enough  to  stand  in  and  deep 
enough  to  hold  a  sarcophagus.  It  was  gable- 
roofed,  with  the  open  gable  end  facing  the  room 
we  first  entered.  Large  slabs  of  alabaster  lined  the 
walls,  and  though  no  inscriptions  were  here  to 
throw  any  light  upon  the  subject,  it  was  evidently 
the  sepulchre  of  an  exalted  personage.  The  hope- 
less confusion  of  the  contents  showed  that  it  had 
been  plundered  ;  nothing  that  thieves  could  easily 
convert  into  money  was  left,  and  the  floor  was 
littered  with  broken  bits  of  mummy-case,  pieces 
of  bows  and  arrows,  wooden  figures,  and  a  number 
of  earthenware  pots.  In  one  corner  a  brown  heap 

196 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  NEKTENEBO,  MEDTNET  HABU 


THE    MENTUHOTEP   TEMPLE 

of  dust  with  shreds  of  mummy-cloth  was  all  that 
was  visible  of  the  body  which  this  tomb  was  so 
carefully  built  to  conceal.  The  heat  was  so  great 
that  the  wax  candles  we  held  bent  and  softened  in 
our  hands.  We  had  left  most  of  our  clothes  out- 
side, and  though  we  had  little  enough  on,  that 
little  was  almost  unbearable.  The  enclosed  air  was 
stifling,  and  the  desire  to  get  out  dominated  all 
other  sensations.  The  dramatic  sight  which  we 
had  witnessed  in  the  tomb  in  the  neighbouring 
valley  was  absent  here  ;  the  heap  of  brown  dust 
lying  in  the  corner  awakened  no  more  feelings  of 
awe  than  a  sackful  of  guano  shot  there  might  have 
done,  and  what-  little  vitality  remained  to  us  after 
breathing  this  foetid  atmosphere  was  required  to 
crawl  up  the  long  shaft  to  get  into  the  open  air. 
That  brown  heap  was  probably  the  remains  of 
Mentuhotep,  but  one  must  be  cautious  in  making 
such  assertions. 

It  was,  anyhow,  an  important  find  ;  and  as,  day 
by  day,  the  contents  of  the  mortuary  chamber 
were  brought  up  to  the  hut,  it  became  increasingly 
evident  that  they  had  been  intended  for  the  fur- 
niture of  a  royal  tomb.  The  sorting  and  packing 
of  all  these  things  took  some  time,  and  our  nightly 
attempts  to  piece  the  broken  fragments  together 
had  to  be  abandoned,  as  there  seemed  no  end  to 
their  number. 

197 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

Another  tomb  to  the  left  of  the  great  shaft  was 
found,  as  more  debris  was  cleared  at  the  foot  of  the 
cliffs,  and  the  huge  granite  sarcophagus  it  con- 
tained, and  its  situation  near  the  sanctuary  of  the 
temple,  suggests  its  having  once  contained  a  royal 
mummy. 

Mrs.  Naville  was  for  weeks  occupied  in  arrang- 
ing and  sorting  the  fragments  belonging  to  seven 
little  shrines  that  had  stood  on  the  upper  terrace, 
and  enough  remained  to  enable  her  son-in-law  to 
reconstruct  on  paper  a  completed  one.  The  design 
was  very  beautiful,  and  the  sculptured  ornamenta- 
tion on  some  of  the  fragments  nearly  equalled  the 
work  of  the  XVIII  dynasty.  The  drawing  of  the 
figures  on  parts  of  the  remaining  walls  of  the  terraces 
is  inferior  to  the  later  work,  being  more  the  con- 
ventional tradition  of  skilled  workmen  than  the 
living  art  of  personal  genius,  such  as  one  sees  in 
the  Hatshepsu  temple.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
one  of  these  beautiful  little  shrines  could  not  have 
been  reconstructed  and  allowed  to  remain  in  situ  as  a 
fine  example  of  XI  dynasty  work.  As  fragments 
they  will  now  help  to  fill  some  shelves  in  different 
museums,  but  their  value  as  a  piece  of  architectural 
design  will  be  very  small.  To  have  left  one 
would,  however,  have  entailed  the  erection  of  an 
iron  framework  to  protect  it  from  the  natives,  and 
standing  as  it  would  have  done  in  an  iron  cage,  its 

108 


THE    MENTUHOTEP   TEMPLE 

effect  among  these  ruins  would  have  been  rather  in- 
congruous. Were  it  possible  to  make  the  receiving 
of  stolen  fragments  an  indictable  offence,  or  to 
enforce  such  laws  as  exist,  these  interesting  records 
might  often  be  allowed  to  remain  in  their  proper 
surroundings  :  but  it  is  a  difficult  matter  ensuring 
the  safety  of  these  works  of  art  in  a  country  where 
public  opinion  is  not  alive  to  their  true  value.  If 
a  thief  is  caught  in  possession  of  stolen  antiquities, 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a  conviction  from  a 
native  magistrate,  who  is  ready  to  do  a  deal  in 
antiquities  himself.  As  an  instance  of  how  venial 
a  sin  the  stealing  of  an  '  antika '  is  considered  by 
others  than  natives,  the  following  may  illustrate. 
A  lady,  who  before  being  attacked  by  the  col- 
lector's mania  would  not  have  stolen  a  pin,  brought 
a  scarab  to  our  camp,  and  asked  Currelly  to  help 
her  to  decipher  the  cartouche  and  also  to  appraise 
its  value.  Currelly  decided  that  it  was  a  sham, 
very  much  to  the  lady's  disappointment  ;  but,  loath 
to  believe  that  she  had  been  taken  in,  she  gave 
her  reasons  for  still  maintaining  its  genuineness : 
"  Achmet "  (the  donkey  boy)  "  assured  me  that 
he  had  stolen  it  from  the  dig,  and  he  has  such  an 
honest  face  that  I  am  sure  he  was  speaking  the 
truth  !  "  When  the  laughter  had  subsided — even 
that  of  her  husband — it  dawned  on  the  good  lady 
that  there  was  something  a  bit  out  in  her  argu- 

199 


BELOW  THE   CATARACTS 

ment,  and  that   possibly  dear  Achmet  was  not  a 
thief  in  spite  of  his  honest  face. 

There  is  something  about  '  antika '  collecting 
that  distorts  the  moral  vision.  A  man  will  sip 
coffee  with  an  '  antika '  dealer  while  he  is  buying 
goods  that  he  knows  have  been  stolen  from  him, 
whereas  he  would  have  the  man  locked  up  were 
he  a  receiver  of  a  stolen  pair  of  boots.  When 
Currelly  first  joined  the  excavations  at  Thebes  and 
was  less  able  than  now  to  detect  a  "  Kurnah-made  " 
scarab,  he  wished  to  have  his  own  judgment  corrob- 
orated while  making  some  purchases  at  a  dealer's  in 
Luxor.  The  foreman,  or  '  reis,'  as  they  are  called, 
of  the  excavations  was  a  Kurnah  man,  and  doubt- 
lessly a  deft  hand  at  forging  '  antikas  *  himself,  so 
it  struck  Currelly  that  it  might  be  advisable  to  take 
this  man  with  him  to  the  shop  and  get  him  to 
drop  a  hint  should  he  detect  any  "  Kurnah-made  " 
fakes.  The  foreman  fell  in  with  this,  and  as 
Currelly  treated  his  men  kindly,  and  had  had  some 
experience  in  handling  natives,  he  felt  that  he  could 
depend  on  his  ally.  A  tempting  lot  of  '  antikas  ' 
were  spread  out  on  the  counter,  and  our  friend 
began  making  his  selection.  "  Now,  how  about 
this  ?  "  he  would  ask,  picking  up  a  blue-glazed 
'  ushabti,'  "  Can  you  guarantee  its  genuineness  ?  " 
The  salesman  assured  him,  by  the  beard  of  the 
Prophet,  that  he  knew  the  very  tomb  where  it  had 

200 


THE   MENTUHOTEP   TEMPLE 

been  found,  and  appealed  to  his  co-religionist,  the 
foreman,  for  corroboration.  The  latter,  wishing  to 
serve  his  master,  and  yet  not  to  make  an  enemy  of 
the  shopman,  would  also  swear  by  all  he  held  holy 
that  such  a  bit  of  blue  glaze  was  beyond  the  skill 
of  the  forger,  and  that  he  could  vouch  for  the  tomb 
where  it  had  been  found  ;  but  a  gentle  stamp  on 
Currelly's  foot  under  the  counter  was  a  sufficient 
reminder  that  the  foreman  was  only  lying  par  com- 
plaisance, and  the  purchase  of  the  '  ushabti '  was 
not  made. 

Should  the  next  article  be  a  genuine  one,  the 
protestations  of  the  dealer  would  again  be  corro- 
borated by  the  '  reis,'  and  an  accompanying  elbow 
movement  of  the  latter  was  a  hint  to  Currelly  that 
he  might  safely  buy.  This  would  then  be  set 
aside  as  worth  bargaining  for.  So  it  went  on, 
until  every  '  antika '  that  was  worth  a  place  in  the 
museum  in  which  Currelly  was  interested  had  been 
sifted  out.  As  the  protestations  of  the  '  reis '  and 
the  dealer  grew  more  eloquent  over  a  sham  that 
was  offered  for  sale,  so  the  foot-stamping  increased 
in  vigour,  and  Currelly  was  thankful  that  his  foot 
was  protected  by  a  substantial  boot.  The  long 
process  of  bargaining  would  then  begin  for  each 
individual  object  ;  then  an  offer  for  the  lot  if 
taken  en  bloc.  "  Can  you  expect  me  to  sell  for  so 
much  less  than  I  gave  ?  "  would  say  the  dealer  as 

201 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

one  appealing  to  the  better  side  of  a  stern  client. 
c<  But,  as  it  is  for  you — and  mind  you,  no  one  else," 
with  a  shake  of  the  finger,  I  am  prepared  to  only 
lose  so  much."  This  kindness  would  end  that 
day's  proceedings.  Subtle  signs  had  doubtlessly 
been  exchanged  between  the  dealer  and  his  co- 
religionist as  to  the  latter's  commission  when  in 
course  of  time  the  deal  would  be  concluded  ;  for 
however  loyal  the  service  of  the  '  reis '  had  been, 
baksheesh  is  baksheesh,  and  baksheesh  is  as  essential 
a  part  of  trading  in  the  East  as  advertising  is  in  the 
West.  It  would  not  be  safe  to  allow  the  bargaining 
to  stretch  over  more  than  a  week  or  two,  as  it 
would  be  bringing  it  dangerously  near  the  tourist 
season,  and  a  more  advantageous  offer  from  one  of 
the  "  Sawarhine  "  would  mean  the  loss  of  the  lot  ; 
but  when  the  season  is  well  over  a  bargain  can  be 
allowed  with  safety  to  stretch  over  a  month  or  two. 

It  is,  however,  only  fair  to  say  that  there  are 
dealers  who  trade  in  a  more  straightforward 
manner,  and  who,  having  a  reputation  to  lose,  will 
not  risk  it  by  palming  off  a  fraud,  knowing  it  to 
be  such. 

Towards  the  end  of  March  the  reflected  rays 
from  the  cliffs  made  the  valley  of  Der  el-Bahri 
uncomfortably  hot.  When  we  had  a  spell  of 
south  wind  the  heat  rose  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
impressions  could  only  be  taken  from  daybreak  to 

202 


WALL  PAINTINGS  IN  THE  TOMB  OF  NACHT  AT 
THEBES 


THE    MENTUHOTEP   TEMPLE 

ten  o'clock  at  the  latest,  as  the  wax  would  not 
harden  later  in  the  day.  The  casting  was  often 
deferred  till  sundown,  and  carried  on  well  into 
the  night.  I  was  anxious  that  the  casting  of 
"  Punt "  should  be  completed  this  season,  though  I 
was  obliged  to  defer  a  great  part  of  the  colouring 
till  the  next  ;  therefore,  when  the  wind  shifted  to  a 
cooler  quarter,  the  work  would  go  on  all  day. 

The  men  were  pleased  enough  to  be  able  to 
sleep  in  the  shade  during  the  heat  of  the  day  when 
the  "  khamsin  "  was  on.  The  tombs  were  the 
only  cool  places  I  could  find  to  do  some  water- 
colour  work  in.  My  subjects  were  sometimes 
almost  invisible  after  first  coming  from  the  glare 
outside,  but  they  would  appear  light  enough  to 
work  at  when  my  eyes  got  accustomed  to  the 
diminished  light.  It  was,  of  course,  only  in  such 
parts  of  the  tombs  as  were  near  the  entrance  where 
this  was  possible,  unless  one  used  artificial  lighting. 

The  illustration  is  from  a  wall  painting  in  the 
tomb  of  Nakht,  one  of  those  sepulchres  to  which 
I  briefly  alluded,  that  the  visitor  to  Der  el-Bahri 
passes  after  leaving  the  Ramesseum ;  should  he  refer 
to  his  Baedeker,  he  will  see  it  marked  No.  1 25  on  the 
plan  given  of  the  tombs  of  Sheik  Abd  el-Kurnah, 
and  the  guide-book  also  gives  a  full  description  of 
the  scenes  depicted  on  the  walls  of  this  and  the  other 
tombs  which  form  the  interesting  group  in  the 

203 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

Theban  necropolis.  Not  much  is  known  of  Nakht 
himself  beyond  what  these  walls  tell  us.  He  is 
alluded  to  as  a  scribe,  and  was  probably  a  priest  of 
Ammon,  or  connected  with  that  powerful  body  of 
men,  which  was  so  important  a  factor  in  the  destinies 
of  the  New  Empire.  He  lived  about  the  time  of 
Hatshepsu,  and  during  his  lifetime  the  preparation 
of  his  final  earthly  resting  place  had  evidently  inter- 
ested him  keenly.  He  had  seen  enough  of  animal  or 
bird-headed  gods  and  goddesses,  and  probably  valued 
them  at  their  true  worth,  and  he  preferred  that 
his  spirit  should  live  amongst  the  scenes  where  his 
heart  was  fixed.  References  to  Ammon  were 
there,  for  a  belief  in  a  bodily  manifestation  of 
the  Supreme  Being  was  probably  always  held,  even 
when  the  Augurs  were  laughing.  By  a  curious 
irony  of  fate,  these  references  were  later  on 
ruthlessly  defaced  by  the  Pharaoh  whose  one  great 
object  in  life  was  to  substitute  for  the  worship 
of  the  host  of  Theban  gods  that  of  a  god  made 
manifest  in  the  sun-disk.  The  letter  offended 
Ikhnaton  more  than  the  spirit,  for  he  could  not 
dissociate  the  name  of  Ammon  from  the  priest- 
hood which  he  was  trying  to  crush. 

Nakht's  pleasures  were  those  of  most  well-to-do 
country  gentlemen.  He  is  depicted  supervising 
farming  operations,  from  the  ploughing  and  sowing 
of  the  land  to  the  winnowing  of  the  ripened  corn. 

204 


THE   MENTUHOTEP   TEMPLE 

He  is  also  shown  personally  seeing  to  the  vintage  and 
the  wine-pressing.  Judging  from  the  excellence  of 
the  representations,  sport  must  have  been  his  chief 
delight,  the  panel,  where  he  is  spearing  fish,  and 
where  birds  are  being  caught  among  the  marsh 
growth,  is  most  decorative.  You  may  also  see  him 
and  his  wife  at  table,  while  his  cat  is  eating  a  fish 
which  was  probably  not  prepared  to  Nakht's  liking, 
and,  surrounded  by  his  household,  he  is  entertained 
by  dancers  and  musicians. 

I  chose  three  of  the  latter  representations  as  an 
illustration,  partly  because  they  were  in  a  good 
state  of  preservation,  and  also  because  the  wall  they 
are  on  received  enough  daylight  for  my  purpose. 
The  costumes  of  these  ladies  were  well  suited  to 
the  high  temperature  ! 

The  limestone  of  the  rocks  in  which  these  tombs 
are  cut  is  a  coarser  quality  than  that  at  Der  el- 
Bahri,  and  had  been  prepared  with  a  cement  before 
the  colour  was  put  on.  The  delicate  cutting  of 
the  low  reliefs  in  the  Hatshepsu  temple  had  to  be 
abandoned,  and  a  slight  attempt  at  shading  was 
resorted  to  here  to  relieve  the  figures.  The  effect 
is  not  so  good,  and  defective  parts  where  bits  of 
the  cement  have  been  knocked  off,  or  are  detaching 
themselves  from  the  wall,  give  it  a  look  of  shabbi- 
ness  that  is  never  noticeable  in  the  reliefs  cut  in 
the  stone  itself,  be  they  ever  so  much  damaged  by 

205 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

time  or  wilful  mischief.  They  show,  however, 
the  skilled  draughtsmanship  of  the  designer  more 
than  where  the  sculptor  has  cut  away  the  outline. 
These  figures,  some  fifteen  inches  high,  are  drawn 
with  a  very  free  hand  ;  the  contour  of  a  limb  is 
often  done  with  but  two  pulls  of  the  brush.  The 
strings  of  the  harp  look  simple  enough,  but  my 
efforts  to  pull  each  one  off  with  one  stroke,  as  in 
the  original,  made  me  appreciate  the  dexterity  of 
Nakht's  artist.  Indeed,  he  may  have  been  his 
own  artist,  for  the  term  "  scribe  "  probably  included 
both  painter  and  sculptor.  This  idea  gained  on 
me  while  working  in  the  tomb.  The  artists  who 
drew  the  beautiful  eighteenth  or  nineteenth  dynasty 
figures  must  have  disliked  substituting  a  jackal's 
head  for  that  of  a  man's,  as  in  Anubis,  or  sur- 
mounting a  lovely  figure  of  Hathor  with  the  face 
of  a  cow.  In  decorating  his  own  tomb  he  could 
do  as  he  liked  ;  and  no  monstrous  faces  disfigure 
this  last  resting-place  of  Nakht.  Passages  from 
The  Book  of  that  which  is  in  the  Underworld  or  from 
The  Book  of  the  Portals  are  absent  here  ;  he  had 
had  to  treat  of  them  ad  nauseam  while  serving  in 
the  temples.  His  soul  should  wander  about  his 
fields  and  vineyards,  and  be  refreshed  with  the  good 
things  of  his  table  while  long-eyed  damsels  dis- 
coursed sweet  music. 

There   are  many  tombs   of   greater  importance 

206 


THE    MENTUHOTEP   TEMPLE 

than  this  of  Nakht  ;  to  attempt  to  describe  these 
is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  book.  All  should  visit 
that  of  Rekhmere,  where  the  pictures  speak  for 
themselves. 

The  casting  of  "  Punt "  was  drawing  to  a  close, 
and  a  continuance  of  hot  wind  decided  me  to  get 
out  of  this  burning  valley  of  Der  el-Bahri.  I  had 
not  seen  Abydos  when  an  opportunity  of  staying 
close  to  Seti's  temple  presented  itself.  Mr.  Gar- 
stang,  who  was  directing  some  excavations  in  the 
cemetery  close  by,  kindly  invited  me  to  join  his 
camp.  The  temple  is  eight  and  a  half  miles  from 
the  river,  just  beyond  the  reach  of  the  cultivated 
land,  and  the  nearest  station  is  that  of  Belianeh. 
Though  the  camp  is  only  some  eighty  miles  from 
the  one  at  Der  el-Bahri,  it  entailed  a  long  journey 
and  a  night  spent  at  Luxor  to  enable  me  to  catch 
a  stopping  train  leaving  soon  after  daybreak.  The 
wind  happily  had  shifted  to  a  cooler  quarter  or  I 
should  have  been  half-stifled  in  the  train.  We 
crawled  along  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile  for  about 
half  of  the  way,  and  crossed  over  to  the  west  side 
at  Nag  Hamadeh.  Long  stoppages  at  stations  where 
no  one  got  in  and  no  passengers  alighted  enabled 
the  company  to  make  this  run  of  eighty  miles 
spread  over  five  or  six  hours.  I  secured  a  couple 
of  donkeys  at  Belianeh  to  take  me  and  my  luggage 
across  the  cultivation.  The  sun  was  now  so  high 

207 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

in  the  heavens  that  the  whole  of  one's  person  fell 
within  the  shadow  of  the  brim  of  one's  helmet. 
But  a  week  had  elapsed  since  the  corn  first  began 
to  lose  its  spring  greenness,  and  now  it  looked 
ready  for  the  reaping  hook.  The  colour  of  the 
landscape  was  therefore  much  finer,  and  the  expanse 
of  golden  crops  to  right  and  left  made  the  desert 
hills  look  silvery  by  contrast. 

The  temple  of  Seti  is  reached  soon  after  leaving 
the  plain.  Its  interior  is  disappointing  and  does 
not  lend  itself  to  a  sketch.  A  quarter  of  a  mile 
further  in  the  desert  is  the  ruined  temple  of 
Ramses  II.  Save  these  two  temples  and  the 
cemetery  beyond,  nothing  visible  remains  of  the 
ancient  city  of  Abydos.  Most  of  it  must  have 
disappeared  when  Strabo  visited  Egypt,  for  he 
speaks  of  it  as  "  once  a  great  city,  second  only  to 
Thebes,  but  now  only  a  small  place." 

After  crossing  some  low  hills  strewn  with  broken 
pottery,  and  here  and  there  an  open  pit  tomb 
nearly  silted  up  with  sand,  we  dipped  down  into 
a  sandy  plain  shut  in  by  the  Libyan  hills  to  the 
west.  A  Union  Jack  hanging  limp  over  a  one- 
storied  mud-brick  house  marked  my  destination. 

The  excavating  which  Garstang  is  carrying  out 
at  the  cost  of  the  Liverpool  University,  is  likely  to 
last  several  years,  which  made  it  worth  while  to 
build  comfortable  quarters  for  the  members  of  the 

208 


SETI  I.  OFFERING  AN  IMAGE  OF  TRUTH  TO  OSIRIS 

(From  the  wall  inscriptions  in  the  Temple  at  Abydos] 


.. 


\ 


THE    MENTUHOTEP  TEMPLE 

dig,  and  a  substantial  storehouse  for  the  finds.  My 
host  had  run  down  to  Cairo  for  a  few  days,  but 
Mr.  Harold  Jones  and  Mr.  Blackman  were  superin- 
tending the  work.  Howard  Carter  also  was  staying 
there,  bent  on  the  same  work  as  I  had  come  to 
do — to  make  some  studies  of  the  Seti  bas-reliefs. 
The  house  was  planned  with  great  skill,  to  keep 
the  living  room  cool  and  to  accommodate  six 
people,  without  unduly  drawing  on  the  funds  at 
the  disposal  of  the  excavation,  and  the  lunch 
showed  that  Harold  Jones  could  keep  house  as 
well  as  plan  one.  Having  had  nothing  since  a 
hurried  breakfast  at  five  a.m.,  I  was  able  to  do  this 
meal  full  justice.  The  heat  is  so  great  that  as  the 
season  advances  the  afternoon  "  siesta  "  grows  from 
a  luxury  into  a  necessity.  Work  becomes  impos- 
sible from  one  till  four  ;  it  is  therefore  well  to 
shorten  one's  rest  at  night  and  resume  it  in  the 
early  afternoon. 


209 


CHAPTER   XVII 

KARNAK 

I  HAD  the  advantage  of  Howard  Carter's  com- 
pany on  my  first  visit  to  the  Seti  temple.  His 
long  experience  in  drawing  the  temple  inscriptions 
has  given  him  a  better  knowledge  of  Egyptian  art 
than  possibly  any  of  our  contemporaries. 

Though  art  had  reached  its  highest  point  during 
the  eighteenth  dynasty,  the  reliefs  in  this  temple 
show  no  signs  of  its  decadence,  and  I  am  inclined 
to  place  them  as  the  greatest  achievements  in 
pictorial  art  that  Egypt  has  left  us.  They  are  the 
work  of  a  great  artist  who,  though  still  imbued 
with  the  traditions  of  the  previous  dynasty, 
stamped  it  with  his  own  personal  genius. 

Art  in  general  was  declining,  but  not  the  art 
of  the  man  who  designed  the  decoration  of  these 
walls  ;  while  the  portion  of  the  temple  which  is 
covered  with  inscriptions  of  the  succeeding 
Ramses  II.  shows  the  decline  in  a  marked  degree. 
The  reigns  of  Seti  and  that  of  his  son  were  both 

210 


KARNAK 

long  ones,  so  there  may  have  elapsed  some  forty 
or  fifty  years'  interval  ;  but  it  was  a  sad  falling  off 
in  so  comparatively  short  a  time. 

The  reliefs  of  Seti  are  slightly  higher  than  those 
in  Hatshepsu's  temple  at  Thebes,  but  the  increased 
size  of  the  figures  may  partially  account  for  this. 
Probably  all  were  intended  to  be  coloured,  as  a 
certain  number  of  them  are  ;  but  as  time  has  served 
so  much  of  the  coloured  work  badly,  perhaps  it  is 
fortunate  that  the  majority  still  remain  as  they  left 
the  hands  of  the  sculptor.  I  have  chosen  an 
illustration  from  both  series.  In  one,  where  the  hue 
has  only  been  acquired  through  the  discoloration 
of  the  limestone,  Seti  is  bringing  an  offering  to 
Osiris,  a  fragment  of  whose  figure  is  seen  to  be 
left,  and  of  the  coloured  series  I  chose  the  relief 
representing  Seti  being  nursed  by  Isis.  The 
modelling  appears  to  greater  advantage  in  the 
former,  as  the  broken  colour  in  the  latter  inter- 
feres with  the  light  and  shade.  I  restored  the 
faces  of  the  goddess  and  that  of  the  young  king,  as 
the  subject  would  otherwise  have  hardly  been 
intelligible,  and  covered  up  ugly  scratches  that 
interfered  with  the  design.  The  blues  and  greens 
are  nearly  gone  and  the  blacks  have  quite  dis- 
appeared, while  the  reds  and  yellows  are  nearly  as 
strong  as  when  first  put  on  ;  we  cannot  therefore 
judge  fairly  of  the  decoration  as  a  scheme  of 

211  p  2 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

colour,  but  the  design  makes  it  rank  among  the 
great  things  that  art  in  any  age  has  produced.  Now 
that  they  are  exposed  to  the  sun  and  to  what  little 
rain  falls  in  Upper  Egypt,  they  will  probably  lose 
more  in  one  year  than  during  the  centuries  they 
lay  buried  under  the  sand. 

The  original  roofing-stones  served  as  a  protec- 
tion ;  but  without  going  so  far  as  to  restore  these, 
it  is  a  pity  that  some  means  are  not  used  to  pre- 
serve what  colour  remains.  In  dynastic  times  the 
pigments  were  protected  by  a  varnish,  which  is 
still  seen  in  places  where  neither  the  sun  nor  the 
occasional  shower  can  reach  it.  Whether  it  would 
be  better  to  give  the  colour  here  a  dull  varnish  or  to 
board  in  the  roof  is  a  matter  to  consider.  Apart 
from  the  colour,  the  actual  life  of  the  stonework 
would  be  lengthened,  for  the  changes  of  tempera- 
ture as  the  midday  sun  strikes  full  on  these  reliefs 
must  be  very  great,  and  is  bound  to  act  on  the 
surface  of  the  bruised  stone. 

This  temple,  being  erected  near  the  supposed 
grave  of  Osiris,  is  dedicated  to  the  god  of  the 
nether  world,  and  to  his  goddess  Isis  and  their 
son  Horus.  The  honouring  of  this  triad  was  the 
subject  the  artist  had  to  represent  in  these  reliefs, 
not  forgetting  to  show  forth  the  special  favour  in 
which  Seti  stood, — even  to  usurping  the  place  of 
the  infant  Horus.  We  see  the  King  in  different 

212 


ISIS  SUCKLING  SETI  I.,  ABYDOS 


KARNAK 

surroundings  on  the  north  wall  of  the  hypostyle 
hall  at  Karnak.  He  is  represented  there  as  a 
warrior  smiting  a  Libyan  chief,  and  the  vigorous 
battle  scenes  of  which  this  is  the  chief  incident 
probably  served  as  a  model  for  all  the  warlike  scenes 
we  find  on  the  Ramesid  temples  later  on. 

There  is  some  beautiful  work  still  visible  on  the 
ruined  walls  of  Seti's  mortuary  temple  at  Kurnah, 
and  the  grandeur  of  design  of  the  great  rock  temple 
at  Abu  Simbel,  which  is  known  as  a  Ramses  II. 
work,  was  designed  during  the  reign  of  that 
Pharaoh's  illustrious  father.  We  find  all  the  three 
forms  of  wall  decorations  used  during  Seti's  time. 
These  low  reliefs  at  Abydos  are  the  most  beautiful ; 
but  the  relief  en  creux  was  also  much  used,  and 
with  fine  effect  ;  that  is,  the  background  is  not  cut 
away,  but  the  outline  is  incised,  and  the  relief  is 
within  the  depth  of  the  incision.  A  very  beautiful 
example  of  this  is  in  his  tomb  at  Thebes,  where  the 
young  king  is  represented  making  an  offering  to 
the  image  of  truth.  This  same  tomb  is  also  richly 
decorated  with  unrelieved  wall  painting. 

After  a  few  days  at  Abydos,  a  visitation  of  the 
'  khamsin '  made  the  place  almost  as  unbearable  as 
I  had  found  Der  el-Bahri.  This  wind  gets  its  name 
from  the  Arabic  word  meaning  "  fifty,"  for  it  is 
during  that  number  of  days,  from  the  beginning  of 
April,  that  Egypt  is  liable  to  it.  It  is  also  known 

213 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

as  the  '  simoom.'  The  rising  temperature,  a  change 
in  the  colour  of  the  sky  from  blue  to  grey,  and  a 
stillness  in  the  air,  prepares  us  for  its  coming. 
This  absence  of  any  air  stirring  may  last  some 
time  ;  the  grey  sky  turns  to  a  yellowish  hue  in 
the  south,  and  a  preliminary  hot  puff  or  two  tells 
us  that  we  are  in  for  it.  A  long  blast  of  hot  air,  as 
if  the  gates  of  the  Inferno  opened,  now  follows.  It 
picks  up  the  sand  as  it  moves  across  the  desert,  and 
the  distance  is  lost  in  a  yellow  fog.  I  have  tried  to 
paint  the  effect,  but  could  not  lay  on  a  wash  of 
colour,  so  rapid  was  the  drying.  Palette  and  sketch 
had  surfaces  like  sand-paper  before  I  could  get  a 
second  wash  ready,  if  my  board  faced  the  wind,  and 
if  I  faced  it  myself  I  was  blinded  with  the  sand.  I 
hope  to  try  it  again  but  not  on  the  spot.  The 
only  way  for  a  painter  is  to  treat  the  '  khamsin  '  as 
he  would  a  wet  day  in  England,  and  devote  his 
time  to  doing  the  hundred  and  one  things  indoors 
that  a  long  spell  of  fine  weather  has  made  him  put 
off.  One  asks  oneself  how  one  will  be  able  to 
stand  May  or  June  if  it  is  as  hot  as  this  in 
April.  I  have,  before  now,  packed  up  all  my  warm 
clothing  during  an  early  simoom,  to  send  them 
home  by  petite  vitesse,  but  have  thanked  goodness 
a  couple  of  days  later  that  they  had  not  gone  off, 
as  a  change  in  the  wind  has  made  me  hurry  to  get 
them  out  again.  When  it  blows  from  the  north 

214 


KARNAK 

once  more  its  bracing  effect  puts  one  in  such  good 
spirits  that  even  the  fear  of  a  return  of  the  enemy 
does  not  damp  them  ;  one  finds  that  one  has  not 
suffered  in  vain,  for  that  plague  of  Egypt,  the  flies, 
will  have  very  much  abated  ;  and  the  hot  wind 
has  also  thinned  out  the  tourists,  while  those  yet 
remainingregret  that  they  were  somewhat  premature 
in  securing  their  berths  on  home-bound  steamers. 
April  in  Egypt  is  never  spoilt  by  rain,  and  whether 
it  is  a  paradise  or  an  inferno  during  that  month 
is  determined  by  the  quarter  from  which  the  wind 
blows. 

I  returned  to  Luxor  by  a  night  train  as  I  did 
not  like  facing  the  ride  across  the  cultivation  till 
the  sun  had  gone  down.  Der  el-Bahri  had  cooled 
down  a  bit  when  I  reached  it  the  next  morning. 
The  excavations  were  over  and  every  one  had  left 
but  Currelly,  who  was  seeing  to  the  packing  of  the 
detachable  bits  of  Mentuhotep's  temple,  previous 
to  their  going  to  London.  The  Hathor  cow  of  the 
previous  year,  that  had  been  acquired  by  the  Cairo 
Museum,  was  accepted  by  it  as  a  sufficient  share 
of  the  finds  to  allow  of  all  that  had  turned  up  this 
winter  to  fall  to  the  share  of  the  Egyptian  Explora- 
tion Fund.  My  personal  luggage  was  soon  packed 
and  sent  on  a  camel  to  the  river's  edge  opposite 
Karnak,  where  my  friend  Nicol's  dahabiyeh  lay.  I 
was  sorry  to  leave  Currelly  alone  in  this  furnace, 

21  c 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

with  tons  of  fragments  still  to  pack,  but  my  time 
was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  Karnak  must  figure  in 
this  book. 

To  get  on  to  a  clean  dahabiyeh  after  the  dust  and 
heat  of  Der  el-Bahri  was  indeed  a  joy.  I  look  back 
with  the  greatest  pleasure  on  my  stay  in  the  camp, 
a  sojourn  which  lasted  over  five  months,  and  its 
breaking  up  in  dust  and  heat,  in  a  confusion  of 
packing-cases,  empty  tins,  and  broken  '  antikas  * 
not  worth  the  transport  to  England,  is  not  the 
phase  that  I  shall  store  up  in  my  memory  to 
enable  me  to  recall  the  happy  time  I  passed  near 
Hatshepsu's  temple. 

When  we  reached  Karnak  my  friend  Erskine 
Nicol  moored  the  Mavis  within  five  minutes'  walk 
of  the  great  temple.  Howard  Carter  had  given  me 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  M.  Legrain,  who  has 
superintended  the  excavations  there,  and  who  must 
have  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  Karnak  than 
any  man  living  ;  and  my  first  morning  was  spent 
with  this  genial  Frenchman  and  Nicol  in  "  doing  " 
the  various  temples  enclosed  in  this  great  area. 

I  had  been  there  several  times  before,  but  had 
only  a  confused  idea  of  this  stupendous  mass  of 
ruins.  M.  Legrain  kindly  told  us  the  story  of 
Karnak,  and  pointed  out  the  growth  of  this  city 
dedicated  to  Ammon.  From  foundations  of  the 
twelfth  dynasty  we  traced  its  history  until  the  time 

216 


KARNAK 

of  Our  Lord,  a  period  extending  over  two  thousand 
years.  There  are  also  some  remains,  dating  from 
archaic  times,  which  would  double  that  lapse  of  time; 
but  as  we  are  only  treating  of  such  buildings  as 
lend  themselves  to  pictorial  representation,  we 
shall  leave  these  earlier  foundations  to  the  archaeolo- 
gist. M.  Legrain  began  life  as  an  artist,  and  went 
through  the  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts^  therefore  his 
artistic  temperament,  together  with  his  knowledge 
of  the  place,  led  him  to  take  us  to  points  of  vantage 
from  whence  the  ruins  were  seen  at  their  best. 

The  approach  from  the  Nile,  passing  through 
the  avenue  of  ram-headed  Sphinxes,  is  the  best  to 
take  in  order  to  get  the  finest  impression  of  the 
great  structure  that  dominates  this  vast  area  of 
ruins.  We  enter  through  the  gigantic  portal 
erected  by  one  of  the  Ptolemies  ;  this  is  the  first 
main  pylon.  Its  size  is  impressive,  but  its  beauty 
or  interest  need  not  detain  us  long.  The  great 
court  we  enter  prepares  us  for  greater  things  to 
follow.  One  standing  column  with  calyx  capital 
attracts  us  more  than  anything  else.  The  statue 
which  it  probably  once  supported  is  gone,  and  of 
its  nine  fellows  that  formed  a  double  row  in  the 
centre  of  the  court  nothing  remains  but  the 
pediments  and  some  broken  shafts.  As  we 
approach  it,  it  is  relieved  against  the  ruined  pylon 
of  Ramses  I.,  its  beautiful  capital  clears  the  ruinous 

217 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

background,  and  stands  boldly  against  the  blue  sky. 
The  Ethiopian  Taharqa  is  said  to  have  raised  these 
colossal  columns  during  the  twenty-fifth  dynasty, 
a  period  which  was  the  dawn  of  the  last  renaissance 
of  what  is  most  beautiful  in  Egyptian  art. 

Little  is  recorded  of  Ramses  I.,  whose  pylon  we 
now  pass  through  to  enter  the  great  hypostyle  hall 
which  his  son  Seti  I.  erected  and  his  grandson  the 
second  Ramses  completed.  On  first  entering  this 
great  hall,  with  its  134  columns,  one  is  filled  with 
something  of  the  awe  that  the  first  sight  of  the 
Great  Pyramid  inspires  ;  but  here  a  highly  advanced 
art  has  aided  the  brute  force  required  in  the 
construction  of  this  monumental  work.  Enough 
remains  to  help  one  to  reconstruct  in  imagination 
the  effect  the  complete  building  must  have 
produced  ;  and  as  it  stands  now  it  may  be  con- 
sidered the  grandest  ruin  in  the  world. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  attempt  to  give,  with  my 
unpractised  pen,  the  impression  of  these  colonnades 
which  I  have  been  able  inadequately  to  give  with 
my  brush.  The  illustration  depicts  the  double  row 
of  columns  that  supported  the  roofing-stones  of  the 
nave.  A  hundred  and  twenty-two  such  columns 
supported  the  two  aisles.  These  being  shorter  than 
the  central  ones,  it  allowed  of  a  double  row  of 
clerestory  windows,  which  served  to  light  the 
whole  of  the  interior.  The  wall  space  pierced  by 

218 


CAPITALS  IN  HYPOSTYLE  HALL,   KARNAK 


KARNAK 

these  windows  rises  from  the  roofing  of  the  inner- 
most rows  of  columns  that  support  the  aisles. 
What  we  will  term  the  nave,  for  lack  of  a  better 
term,  forms  in  itself  three  great  aisles.  The  less 
lofty  ones  to  the  right  and  left  of  it  are  each 
supported  by  seven  rows  of  columns,  which,  with 
the  outer  walls,  each  form  seven  lesser  aisles. 

The  effect  of  these  1 34  columns  is  most  impos- 
ing ;  but  the  girth  of  each  one  is  so  great  that 
their  bases  cover  a  very  great  proportion  of  the 
flooring  of  the  interior.  Whether  this  be  archi- 
tecturally right  I  should  not  like  to  assert,  but  the 
effect  it  produces  is  grand  in  the  extreme.  That 
it  takes  six  men  with  outstretched  arms  to  span 
one  of  these  colossal  columns  in  the  nave  may  give 
some  idea  of  their  girth  ;  their  height  is  69  feet, 
and  the  abaci  and  blocks  of  stone  that  support  the 
roof  make  the  total  height  of  the  exterior  of  this 
nave  78  feet.  The  architraves  above  the  aisle 
columns  rise  to  about  the  height  of  the  shafts  of 
the  centre  ones.  Some  of  these  had  fallen  seven 
or  eight  years  ago,  and  it  was  interesting  to  hear 
from  M.  Legrain  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
raised  them  and  replaced  the  huge  blocks  of  stone 
that  surmount  and  tie  the  colonnades.  The  means 
he  used  differed  in  no  wise  from  the  means  that  were 
at  the  disposal  of  Seti's  builder.  He  would  pile 
up  earth  till  he  reached  the  height  of  the  missing 

219 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

stone,  and  form  a  sloping  causeway  up  which  the 
block  would  be  hauled  with  the  aid  of  tackle  and 
rollers,  and  as  this  earth  was  moved  from  unex- 
cavated  parts  of  the  temple  near  at  hand,  this 
labour  served  a  double  purpose.  As  labour  is 
cheap  during  certain  months  of  the  year,  he  as- 
sured me  that  it  was  a  less  expensive  procedure 
than  the  use  of  cranes  and  engines  would  have 
been.  There  is  an  enormous  amount  of  this  work 
still  to  be  done.  Many  of  the  aisle  columns  are 
still  buried  nearly  up  to  the  spring  of  their  papyrus 
bud  capitals.  Many  of  the  roofing  stones  were 
probably  used  by  the  Ptolemies  when  they  added 
their  quota  to  the  glory  of  Ammon  or  of  some 
other  Theban  god.  All  the  central  columns,  and 
most  of  the  shorter  ones,  are  inscribed  with  figures 
or  cartouches  of  Ramses  II. 's  time.  The  much 
more  beautiful  work  of  Seti  is  seen  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  pylons  that  enclose  the  hall,  east  and 
west,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  north  wall.  The 
few  columns  that  still  show  the  work  of  this 
Pharaoh  make  one  regret  that  he  did  not  complete 
this  hall.  His  handicraft  is  all  in  the  delicate  low 
relief  that  recalls  the  work  we  have  seen  at  Abydos, 
and  which  there  contrasts  so  much  to  its  advantage 
with  the  work  of  his  son. 

Leaving  the  hypostyle  hall  by  the  door  in  the 
north  wall  we  can  study  the  series  of  reliefs  that 

220 


KARNAK 

depict  the  victories  of  Seti  during  his  campaign  in 
Syria,  and,  interesting  as  these  are  as  an  historical 
record,  they  are  invaluable  as  a  work  of  art.  They 
are  the  great  masterpieces  of  all  the  battle  scenes, 
depicted  from  the  rise  of  the  new  Empire  till  the 
conquest  of  Egypt  by  Alexander.  The  innumerable 
portrayals  of  a  Ramses  slaying  a  barbarian,  repeated 
until  one  is  ready  to  cry,  "  Hold  !  enough  ! "  were 
probably  all  inspired  by  this  great  work  of  art. 

Re-entering  the  hall,  we  pass  again  through  this 
forest  of  columns,  and  quit  it  at  its  eastern  entrance 
through  the  pylon  of  Amenophis,  or  Amen- 
hotep  III.,  as  we  have  been  calling  him.  This 
older  part  of  the  temple  of  Ammon  is  in  such  a 
ruinous  condition  that,  without  the  help  of  Legrain, 
it  would  have  been  difficult  to  know  where  we 
were.  The  two  obelisks  of  Thothmes  I.,  only  one 
of  which  is  standing,  and  a  pedestal  of  a  vanished 
colossal  statue  front  the  early  eighteenth  dynasty 
temple,  which  at  that  time  had  no  buildings  to 
mask  it  from  the  river.  The  pylon  of  Thothmes 
is  now  no  more  than  a  shapeless  heap  of  stones. 
The  second  pylon,  of  which  even  less  remains 
forms  the  eastern  side  of  a  narrow  colonnaded 
court,  nothing  of  which  now  stands,  save  the  great 
obelisk  of  Thothmes'  extraordinary  daughter,  Hat- 
shepsu.  Her  unloving  spouse,  the  third  Thothmes, 
had  encased  the  lower  half  with  sandstone  walls, 

221 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

which  have  since  fallen  down,  and  we  can  now  see 
this  pink  granite  monolith  in  its  entirety.  It  is  the 
finest  obelisk  in  Egypt  ;  just  under  a  hundred  feet 
in  height,  and  its  estimated  weight,  according  to 
Professor  Steindorf,  is  3,673  tons.  Marks  of  the 
Thothmosid  feuds  are  visible  on  the  polished  surface 
of  the  stone,  also  those  of  the  religious  revolution 
of  Ikhnaton,  where  the  figure  of  Ammon  had  been 
effaced,  to  be  restored  during  Seti's  reign,  when 
the  worship  of  that  god  was  firmly  re-established. 
Beyond  this,  the  fifth  pylon  starting  from  the  river 
is  another  colonnaded  court  of  Thothmes  I.,  flanked 
by  Osiride  figures ;  and  passing  through  yet  another 
pylon,  we  enter  the  forecourt  of  the  sanctuary. 
The  granite  gateway  of  the  last  and  smallest  pylon 
has  some  beautiful  work  inscribed  on  its  sides,  with 
characteristic  figures  of  Nubian  and  Syrian  prisoners 
taken  by  the  third  Thothmes.  The  same  Pharaoh 
erected  two  granite  pillars  in  this  court,  the  lily  of 
Upper  Egypt,  on  the  southern  one,  stands  in  high 
relief  and  faces  the  midday  sun  ;  while  on  the 
northern  face  of  the  second  we  see  the  papyrus  of 
Lower  Egypt.  I  took  the  accompanying  illustra- 
tion from  one  of  the  ruined  apartments  of  Queen 
Hatshepsu  which  lie  on  the  north  and  south  sides  of 
the  sanctuary.  The  mutilated  statue  of  Thothmes 
III.  has  been  placed  in  the  dilapidated  boudoir 
of  his  half-sister  and  queen.  Above  rises  the 

222 


THE  SANCTUARY  AT    KARNAK 


KARNAK 

granite  sanctuary  that  Philip  Arrhidaeus  erected 
long  after  this  ill-mated  couple  were  laid  to  rest.  It 
stands  on  the  site  of  an  earlier  chamber,  and  when 
Philip  erected  it,  much  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty 
temple  was  in  a  partially  ruinous  state.  Late  as 
this  work  is,  it  is  one  of  the  remaining  gems  of 
Karnak.  Much  of  the  original  colour  yet  remains, 
and  the  granite  of  which  it  is  built  has  a  lovely  hue. 
The  inscriptions,  cut  as  they  are  in  so  hard  a 
material,  are,  in  places,  as  sharply  defined  as  ever 
they  were.  The  interior  walls  are  perhaps  more 
beautiful  still.  The  prevailing  colour  of  the  scenes 
is  a  malachite  green  on  the  pink  background  of 
the  stone.  The  illustration  being  so  much  reduced 
from  the  original  water-colour  drawing,  it  is  difficult 
to  follow  the  inscriptions  on  the  south  wall  that  are 
represented.  Here  they  are  mostly  picked  out  in 
red,  and  the  conventional  colouring  of  the  hiero- 
glyphs and  the  personages  have  been  a  good  deal 
modified  to  suit  a  selected  scheme  of  colour  ;  an 
artist's  licence  which  would  not  have  been  allowed 
when  the  rulers  of  Egypt  were  more  in  sympathy 
with  their  gods.  To  the  left  we  see  the  lily  of 
Upper  Egypt  on  Thothmes'  truncated  pillar,  and 
above  this  Hatshepsu's  great  obelisk  arises.  The 
remaining  clerestory  window  of  the  great  hypostyle 
hall  is  just  visible  in  the  distance,  and  the  ruined 
towers  of  the  last  pylon  we  have  passed,  break  the 

223 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

remaining  part  of  the  sky-line.  A  flight  of  steps 
cut  out  of  one  block  of  stone  seems  still  to  puzzle 
the  archaeologists.  It  is  very  similar  to  the  stair- 
case of  the  altar  of  sacrifice  in  Hatshepsu's  temple 
at  Der  el-Bahri,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  same 
queen  may  have  erected  one  here. 

All  we  see  here  takes  us,  in  successive  stages, 
from  the  consolidation  of  the  New  Empire  to  the 
time  when  Egypt  had  fallen  under  the  rule  of  the 
Greeks. 

To  the  east  of  the  sanctuary  little  but  the 
foundations  remain  of  the  twelfth  dynasty  temple. 
The  lapse  of  time  between  these  relics  and  the 
building  of  Seti's  great  hall  would  embrace  our 
own  history  from  the  period  of  the  Norman 
conquest  to  the  present  day.  Yet  Seti  is  no 
modern,  for  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression,  re- 
ferred to  in  the  first  chapter  of  Exodus,  is 
identified  with  his  successor. 


224 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

MORE  ABOUT  KARNAK 

BEYOND  this  site  of  the  Middle  Empire  temple, 
and  in  alignment  with  those  that  we  have  seen, 
stands  the  colonnaded  hall  that  precedes  the 
sanctuary  of  Thothmes  III.  Working  our  way 
through  the  ruins,  we  find  that  this  hall  is  merely  a 
part  of  a  vast  temple,  but  it  is  neither  awe- 
striking  nor  even  imposing  after  seeing  the  work 
of  Seti  ;  though,  were  this  the  only  building  in  this 
great  enclosure,  it  might  be  both.  The  roof  is 
supported  by  thirty-four  square  pillars  and  two 
rows  of  columns.  The  latter  are  more  extraordi- 
nary than  beautiful  ;  for  the  inverted  calyx  capitals, 
and  the  downward  tapering  of  the  shafts,  give  them 
a  topsy-turvy  look  that  is  not  pleasing.  Much  of 
the  inscribed  work  is  beautiful,  but  time  has  dealt 
badly  with  it.  In  a  chamber  to  the  north  of 
the  ruined  sanctuary  the  walls  are  covered  with 
reliefs  of  plants  and  animals  that  Thothmes  is  said 
to  have  brought  back  from  Syria.  They  are  drawn 

225  o_ 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

with  the  sympathetic  feeling  for  form  which 
characterises  the  work  at  Der  el-Bahri.  The  four 
columns  that  supported  the  roof  of  this  room  are 
in  good  preservation  and  are  of  the  clustered 
papyrus  type,  with  budded  capitals. 

After  we  had  scrambled  over  the  girdle  wall  of 
this  temple,  M.  Legrain  conducted  us  to  a  modest 
little  shrine  that  he  had  lately  unearthed  at  the 
extreme  east  of  the  great  enclosure.  It  is  fortunate 
that  Legrain  is  an  artist  as  well  as  an  Egyptologist, 
for  anyone  not  keenly  alive  to  the  beauty  of  the 
damaged  reliefs  on  the  walls  might  have  lost  us  a 
very  precious  example  of  the  twenty-fifth  dynasty 
work.  He  told  us  that  Shabako,  the  first  of  the 
Ethiopian  kings,  erected  the  little  temple  ;  the 
reliefs  were  in  a  sad  state  of  repair  and  quite  gone 
in  places  where  the  sand-stone  surface  had  dis- 
integrated, but, "  I  think  I  can  show  you  some- 
thing you  will  like,"  he  said,  as  he  took  us  into  an 
inner  chamber  and  pointed  out  a  relief  of  a 
Pharaoh  presenting  an  offering  to  an  almost 
obliterated  god.  The  original  colour  is  nearly 
gone,  but  what  remains  harmonises  beautifully 
with  the  sandstone  that  it  is  laid  on.  As  we 
got  more  accustomed  to  the  subdued  light,  the 
beauty  of  the  design  disclosed  itself,  and  we 
became  less  aware  of  the  disfiguring  joints  in 
the  stones.  The  Pharaoh  is  probably  a  successor 

226 


WALL  INSCRIPTIONS  IN  THE    CHAPEL    OF   SHABAKO, 

K-ARNAK 


TO 


HO  a 


MORE  ABOUT    KARNAK 

of  Shabako  Taharqa  (the  Tirharkah  of  the 
Scriptures)  ;  at  any  rate,  I  would  prefer  not  to 
believe  that  this  beautiful  creature  is  the  ruffian 
who  burned  to  death  his  fallen  enemy  Bokchoris. 
That  so  fine  an  art  could  have  been  resuscitated 
during  the  rule  of  these  Ethiopians  is  amazing. 

It  was  difficult  in  the  short  time  I  had  at  my 
disposal  to  do  anything  like  justice  to  my  subject, 
and  it  has  not  lent  itself  very  well  to  the  necessary 
reduction  and  reproduction  of  the  colour  process. 
The  undulating  lines  of  the  arms  carry  the  eye  to 
the  right  of  the  illustrations,  beyond  which  is  the 
object  of  adoration.  The  birds  that  are  being 
offered  to  the  god  are  barely  traceable  on  the  wall, 
but  how  prettily  they  fill  the  space.  The  leading 
line  of  the  composition  here  stops  short,  and  the 
heads  of  these  birds  send  the  eye  of  the  beholder 
away  from  the  king  to  the  god  he  wishes  to  pro- 
pitiate. Could  any  crown  be  more  beautiful  than 
that  of  the  lotus  flowers  which  the  young  Pharaoh 
wears  ? 

The  little  chapel  that  holds  this  faint  echo  of  a 
supreme  style  of  decoration  is  fortunately  kept 
locked,  and  thus  safeguarded  against  the  fiend 
who  sees  nothing  more  in  a  work  of  art  than  a 
good  background  for  his  name. 

The  standing  monuments  and  the  interesting 
relics  scattered  about  this  great  enclosure  would 

227  Q^  2 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

more  than  fill  a  volume.  To  appreciate  Karnak 
one  must  live  in  its  proximity.  During  the  three 
weeks  I  spent  with  Nicol,  while  the  Mavis  lay 
under  the  bank  near  the  great  temple,  our  time  was 
too  much  occupied  with  painting  to  allow  of  our 
studying  the  place  as  much  as  we  should  have 
liked.  So  far,  the  reader  has  only  accompanied  us 
through  the  series  of  temples  dedicated  by  succeed- 
ing Pharaohs  to  the  worship  of  Ammon,  and  much 
that  could  be  told  of  these  is  precluded  by  the 
limits  of  space. 

Tucked  under  the  north  girdle  wall  stands  a 
little  temple  erected  by  Thothmes  III.  to  the 
Memphite  god  Ptah,  which  was  added  to  under 
the  Ptolemies.  Towards  evening  the  shadow  of 
the  great  temple  spreads  over  the  intervening 
waste,  and  the  sun-lit  columns  of  this  chapel  rise 
up  from  the  pearly-grey  foreground.  The  russet 
colour  of  the  embankment  receives  the  golden  hue 
of  the  capitals,  and  is  in  its  turn  relieved  by  a 
group  of  palms  beyond  the  enclosure.  It  is  a 
pretty  subject,  but  at  this  time  of  day  subjects  are 
not  hard  to  find.  When  the  white  light  of  the 
midday  sun  beats  down  on  the  vast  mass  of  grey 
ruins  through  which  we  have  wandered,  a  lack  of 
colour  makes  it  hard  to  treat  pictorially,  except  in 
black  and  white. 

M.  Legrain  conducted  us  to  this  chapel  of  Ptah, 

228 


MORE  ABOUT   KARNAK 

and  the  heat  and  blinding  light  of  the  early 
summer  sun  made  us  long  to  get  within  its  shade. 
Passing  through  two  roofless  courts,  we  entered  a 
small  covered  chamber  and  almost  ran  against  the 
statue  of  the  lion-headed  goddess  Sekhmet,  before 
our  eyes  had  got  used  to  the  darkness  of  her  abode. 
She  is  a  magnificent  creature,  and  one  is  thankful 
that  she  has  not  been  grabbed  up  by  some  museum, 
but  is  allowed  to  stand  where  Thothmes  placed 
her.  Legrain  told  us  that  he  found  her  here  a  few 
years  since,  but  broken  into  some  sixty  pieces. 
Fortunately,  none  were  missing,  so  he  was  able  to 
piece  her  together  with  infinite  labour,  and  he  has 
been  allowed  to  retain  her  here  in  her  suitable 
surroundings.  This  lion-headed  Goddess  of  War 
is  awe-striking  as  she  appears  in  the  gloom 
of  this  chamber  ;  but  I  have  studied  her  present- 
ment in  other  lighting,  when  a  certain  look  of 
dowdiness  has  replaced  the  awe-inspiring  appear- 
ance which  she  had  here.  Perhaps  a  slight 
likeness  to  a  lady  pew-opener,  whom  I  remember, 
may  have  helped  this  disillusionment.  Something 
in  her  headdress  reminded  me  of  bonnet  strings,  and 
the  sun-disk  gradually  changed  into  that  emblem  of 
perpetual  widowhood,  the  crape  bonnet,  which  I 
cannot  dissociate  from  lady  pew-openers. 

Leaving  Sekhmet  to  keep  guard  in  this  shrine  of 
Ptah,  we   worked   our   way  back    to    the    central 

229 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

court  of  the  temple  of  Ammon,  and,  crossing  this, 
we  proceeded  to  inspect  the  ruins  on  the  south 
side.  It  seems  more  difficult  to  trace  the  plan 
here,  and  the  reason  for  the  four  pylons  that 
succeed  each  other  in  the  three  or  four  hundred 
yards  until  we  reach  the  girdle  wall  of  the  en- 
closure. Thothmes  III.  and  Hatshepsu  are  re- 
sponsible for  the  first  two,  and  the  two  further 
ones,  which  are  somewhat  out  of  the  parallel  with 
the  great  temple,  were  erected  by  Haremheb, 
the  founder  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty.  The  base 
of  the  left  wall  which  connects  the  ruined  pylon 
of  Thothmes  with  the  temple,  is  inscribed  by 
Merneptah.  The  eternal  slaughtering  of  Syrians 
in  which  Ramses  II.,  Merneptah's  father,  took 
such  delight,  is  here  carried  on  by  the  son,  but 
what  most  concerns  us  is  the  artistic  relation  they 
bear  to  the  inscriptions  of  his  grandfather,  Seti  I. 
and  the  yet  older  work  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty. 
By  nature  an  unwarlike  people,  the  art  of  the 
country  seemed  more  in  sympathy  with  peaceful 
subjects  ;  and  the  wars  of  the  Thothmes  were  not 
recorded  in  great  battle  pieces  ;  an  offering  of  the 
spoils  of  victory  to  Ammon  seems  a  sufficient 
pictorial  record,  but  when  Seti  I.  drove  back  the 
Semitic  tribes  who  had  invaded  his  Asiatic 
dominions  and  who  were  becoming  a  serious 
danger  to  Egypt  itself,  the  art  of  the  country 

230 


SEKHET 


MORE  ABOUT   KARNAK 

seemed  to  wake  up  to  the  importance  of  these 
victories,  and  left  us  that  grand  memorial  which  we 
have  seen  on  the  north  wall  of  the  hypostyle  hall. 
During  the  long  wars  of  Ramses  II.,  temples 
seemed  built  to  form  wall  spaces  on  which  to  record 
the  warlike  deeds  of  the  Pharaoh.  Times  out 
of  number  is  he  portrayed  holding  some  poor 
creature  by  the  hair,  and  preparing  to  strike  his 
head  off.  The  same  subject,  treated  ad  nauseam 
at  the  command  of  this  vainglorious  man,  must 
have  had  a  paralysing  effect  on  the  artist's  work, 
and  a  marked  decline  is  visible,  which  continued 
during  the  reign  of  his  son  Merneptah.  Some 
great  artists  doubtless  remained  after  the  close  of 
Seti's  reign  ;  and  where  their  work  was  congenial, 
and  where  they  were  probably  allowed  a  free  hand, 
great  works  of  art  were  produced.  There  is  much 
to  be  admired  in  the  Ramesseum  at  Thebes,  and  the 
rock-cut  temple  of  Abu  Simbel  is  perhaps  the 
finest  monument  of  its  kind  that  the  world  has 
ever  seen,  while  the  little  temple  of  Bet  el-Walli 
in  Nubia  is  also  hard  to  beat  ;  and  one  might 
give  yet  more  instances  of  beautiful  work,  but, 
compared  with  that  of  Seti,  and  that  of  the 
previous  dynasty,  art  in  general  was  on  the  decline. 
This  Merneptah  is  held  by  many  to  be  the  Pharaoh 
of  the  oppression,  rather  than  Ramses  II.  ;  but  the 
finding  of  his  body  in  the  valley  of  the  Tombs  of 

231 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

the  Kings  at  Thebes  is  hard  to  reconcile  with  his 
being  drowned  with  his  hosts  in  the  Red  sea. 
Ramses  may  yet  be  the  Pharaoh  who  "  hardened 
his  heart "  and  it  is  something  to  his  credit  that  he 
had  one  to  harden  ! 

Beyond  this  ruined  pylon  of  Thothmes  III.  we 
see  some  fine  statues  of  that  Pharaoh  standing  at 
the  gateway  of  the  pylon  beyond.  The  pond 
below,  which  is  once  more  being  drained,  served  as 
a  cache  for  a  valuable  find  Legrain  made  here  a 
short  time  ago.  We  must  go  to  the  Cairo  museum 
to  appreciate  the  value  of  his  discovery.  The 
figures  standing  here,  fine  as  they  are,  are  but 
those  not  considered  worthy  of  being  sent  with  the 
others  to  the  famous  museum.  How  this  vast 
number  of  statues  got  to  the  bottom  of  this  pond 
adds  one  to  the  many  unanswered  questions  that 
are  continually  arising  in  this  wonderful  land. 

This  south  part  of  Karnak  is  the  most  sketch- 
able.  The  Sacred  Lake,  in  the  angle  formed  by 
these  southern  extensions,  and  the  earlier  part  of 
the  great  temple,  suggests  many  a  picture.  The 
view  across  the  lake  with  the  distant  pylon  of 
Nectanebo  lighted  with  the  afterglow,  inspired 
Erskine  Nicol  to  paint  one  of  the  best  pictures 
that  has  yet  left  his  easel. 

Passing  through  the  gateway  of  Hatshepsu's 
pylon,  the  battered  statues  of  the  Pharaohs  which 

232 


MORE  ABOUT   KARNAK 

are  relieved  against  it  form  a  subject  that  time 
would  not  allow  of  my  painting,  but  I  live  in 
hopes  of  still  doing  so.  The  lay  of  the  land,  with 
some  pictorial  trees,  and  the  modest  temple  of 
Amenhotep  II.  in  the  space  between  Haremheb's 
two  pylons,  suggest  many  things  to  paint.  We 
had  many  a  stroll,  between  the  lights,  through 
the  southern  precincts  of  Karnak,  which  cover 
nearly  as  great  an  area  as  the  temple  enclosure 
itself.  The  scenes  here  lend  themselves  more  to 
the  landscape  painter  than  to  the  architectural 
draughtsman,  the  relics  of  ancient  monuments 
forming  interesting  incidents  rather  than  the  sub- 
ject of  the  picture.  Groups  of  palm  trees,  scrub, 
and  coarse  grass,  break  the  oft-times  dreary  mono- 
tony of  the  grey  stone. 

An  avenue  of  sphinxes  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  connected  the  enclosure  of  Amenhotep  III.'s 
temple  of  Mut  with  that  of  the  great  temple  of 
Ammon.  A  lake  shaped  like  a  horseshoe  encloses 
the  south  end  of  what  remains  of  the  shrine  which 
that  magnificent  Pharaoh  erected.  These  precincts 
are  outside  the  area  that  is  guarded  by  the  antiqui- 
ties department,  and  the  fellahm  are  free  to  let 
their  sheep  and  goats  find  what  pasturage  they  can 
here.  The  children  bathe  in  this  sacred  lake  and 
the  flocks  are  driven  here  to  water.  Ram-headed 
sphinxes  emerge  here  and  there  out  of  the  soil,  and 

233 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

some  lion-headed  goddesses  cast  their  shadows  on 
the  waters.  An  indefinable  charm  is  here  that  is 
generally  absent  from  a  show-place  ;  and,  as  I 
often  wandered  here  in  the  cool  of  the  evening, 
or  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  I  do  not  associate  it 
with  the  heat  and  glare  of  the  great  temple 
enclosure  ;  which  makes  me  liable  to  overestimate 
its  charm  compared  with  the  more  important 
monuments  in  its  neighbourhood. 

The  temple  of  Khons,  situated  nearer  the  river, 
and  north  of  that  of  Mut,  is  the  best  preserved  of 
the  three  shrines  which  Ramses  III.  erected  at 
Karnak.  Though  not  built  during  the  best  period 
of  Egyptian  architecture,  it  is  of  especial  interest 
from  the  fact  of  its  being  very  nearly  complete. 
Visitors  are  often  taken  here  before  seeing  the 
masses  of  ruin  in  the  enclosure  sacred  to  Ammon. 
Seeing  one  temple  in  its  entirety  helps  one  to 
understand  and  reconstruct  many  of  the  fallen  ones 
that  one  sees  later  on.  So  much  of  the  roof 
remains  that  one  gets  the  dim  religious  light 
wholly  absent  in  the  roofless  remains  of  the 
earlier  temples.  The  great  portal  of  Euergetes  I. 
stands  a  little  way  in  front  of  this  shrine  of  Khons, 
and  an  avenue  of  sphinxes  built  by  the  last  of  the 
Ramesides  precedes  it.  An  outlying  part  of  the 
village  lies  near  this  handsome  portal,  and  between 
the  date  palms  arise  some  of  the  ram-headed 

234 


MORE  ABOUT   KARNAK 

sphinxes,  though  sometimes  no  more  than  a  headless 
trunk  shows  above  the  soil.  We  were  wont 
to  pass  here  after  our  rambles  round  the  temple 
of  Mut,  and  the  growing  darkness  made  it 
difficult  to  find  our  way  until  we  had  cleared 
the  palm  groves  and  reached  the  open  ground 
that  separated  Karnak  from  the  Nile. 

At  length  the  summer  heat  obliged  us  to  go 
north,  and  we  drifted  down  the  river  ;  feeling  that 
we  were  only  beginning  to  know  something  of 
these  famous  ruins  and  their  possibilities  for 
pictorial  treatment. 


235 


CHAPTER   XIX 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  DENDERA 

HOT  as  it  was,  our  progress  down  the  Nile  was 
most  enjoyable.  If  the  north  wind  blew  hard 
enough  to  counteract  the  three  or  four  miles  an 
hour  that  the  stream  would  take  us  during  the 
calm,  we  would  tie  our  boat  up  and  start  again  at 
daybreak  the  next  day.  It  seldom  blows  during  the 
early  hours,  and  as  this  is  the  coolest  part  of  the  day, 
we  were  generally  up  soon  after  the  boat  had  started. 
An  especially  good  subject  would  often  keep  us 
several  days  in  one  place  ;  but,  should  the  wind 
veer  round  to  the  south,  it  was  an  opportunity 
not  to  be  lost,  and  a  satisfaction  that  the  dis- 
agreeable '  khamsin '  could  be  turned  to  such  good 
account.  We  had  our  studio  on  board,  with  a 
great  accumulation  of  work  to  look  over,  and  we 
were  able  to  get  on  with  this  while  slowly  drifting 
with  the  stream.  We  would  often  tie  up  for  the 
night  while  there  was  yet  an  hour's  daylight  ;  and 
a  walk  with  a  gun  would  give  us  some  exercise,  if 

236 


EARLY  MORNING  ON  THE  NILE 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   DENDERA 

it  did  not  always  help  our  larder.  The  notices  not 
to  trespass,  that  stare  one  in  the  face  in  the  country 
at  home,  are  absent  here.  One  is  as  free  to 
wander  over  the  fields  as  to  breathe  the  air ; 
providing  one  takes  care  to  injure  no  crops. 
As  we  were  careful,  and  were  able  to  distinguish 
between  the  wild  pigeons  that  nest  in  the  great 
columbariums  and  the  tame  ones  of  the  villagers, 
and  as  no  one  ever  objected  to  the  former  being 
shot,  the  peasants  would  help  us  to  mark  them. 
When  well  away  from  the  centres  where  the 
Europeans  congregate  during  the  season,  one  finds 
a  marked  difference  in  the  behaviour  of  the  natives. 
The  impertinence  of  the  crowd  at  Luxor,  who 
have  come  to  look  upon  the  tourists  and  visitors  as 
a  source  of  income  that  must  keep  them  in  idleness 
all  the  winter,  is  quite  absent  here.  The  eternal 
cry  of  baksheesh  that  sickens  one  in  Cairo  or 
Assuan,  is  seldom  heard  ;  and,  as  far  as  my  ex- 
perience goes,  I  have  always  found  the  fellah 
civil  and  obliging.  Nicol,  who  has  lived  amongst 
them  for  many  years,  and  speaks  Arabic  perfectly, 
was  no  doubt  a  great  help  in  making  our  contact 
with  the  people  pleasant.  It  is  difficult  for  a 
Western  to  get  at  the  character  of  an  Oriental 
people,  but  with  the  help  of  my  friend's  ex- 
perience I  was  able  to  form  a  better  judgment 
of  the  modern  Egyptian,  and  also  to  get  some 

237 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

idea  of  how  we  appear  in  their  eyes.  Rumours 
at  Luxor  had  reached  us  that  the  country  was  in 
an  unsettled  state  ;  the  Denshaur  incident  had 
created  some  excitement  in  Cairo  and  the  towns  of 
the  Delta,  but  the  boatmen  on  the  Nile  and  the 
up-river  country  folk  seemed  to  know  nothing 
about  it.  As  long  as  the  latter  are  left  in  safe  pos- 
session of  their  plots  of  land,  and  are  able  to  find  a 
market  for  their  produce,  I  do  not  think  they 
trouble  themselves  much  as  to  what  nation  has  the 
most  to  say  in  the  government  of  their  country. 
The  boatmen  do  not  seem  to  have  shared  in  the 
increased  prosperity  which  has  resulted  from  the 
British  occupation,  but  they  are  naturally  a  peace- 
ful lot  of  men,  and  they  hardly  realise  what  our 
position  in  their  country  is.  The  price  of  living 
has  increased  as  a  better  market  for  the  crops  has 
been  found,  but  owing  to  the  competition  of  the 
railway,  and  other  causes,  the  wages  of  the  Nile 
sailors  have  remained  stationary  ;  therefore,  they 
are  really  worse  off  than  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago. 
Their  mania  to  be  on  the  move  seems  unaccount- 
able, for,  as  long  as  they  could  bask  in  the  sun  or 
sleep  in  the  shade  and  get  their  wages,  you  would 
imagine  that  the  longer  the  journey  lasted  the 
better  it  would  suit  them ;  instead  of  which, 
should  the  wind  not  be  dead  against  us,  their 
faces  would  fall  if  we  proposed  to  tie  up  a  bit 

238 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   DENDERA 

longer,  even  though  moving  might  entail  a  long 
day  at  the  oars.  They  were,  of  course,  glad  to 
stay  when  we  got  to  some  town  to  which  any  of 
them  belonged  ;  but  apart  from  that  they  always 
seemed  anxious  to  be  on  the  move.  Fortunately 
for  some  of  the  crew,  we  tied  up  for  a  while  at 
Tukh,  and  one  of  the  sailors  who  lived  here 
brought  us  a  savoury  dish  that  this  part  of  the 
river  is  noted  for.  It  was  very  good,  but  too  rich 
to  partake  of  freely. 

Kus  lies  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  an 
important  city  in  mediaeval  times,  but  now 
dwindled  down  to  not  much  more  than  a  country 
village.  There  is  some  charming  landscape  further 
down  near  Kuft,  the  ancient  Koptos,  and  to  wander 
about  here,  picking  up  a  few  birds  to  replenish  our 
larder,  fell  in  with  our  inclinations  more  than  a 
tramp  over  to  the  ruins  of  a  temple  of  Min.  On 
the  east  bank  of  the  river  some  gayassa  laden 
with  pitchers  were  awaiting  a  favourable  wind  to 
carry  the  Ballas  pottery  down  the  river.  The  clay 
deposits  are  a  little  inland,  but  stacks  of  Ballassa 
were  piled  up  on  the  bank  near  the  village  that 
gives  them  their  name.  Our  next  stopping  place 
was  at  a  modest  little  village  on  the  west  bank 
opposite  Keneh,  our  objective  being  the  temple  of 
Dendera.  Nicol  was  searching  for  a  good  bit  of 
Nile  bank  as  a  setting  for  a  picture  of  "  Watering 

239 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

the  flocks,"  and  signs  were  not  wanting  that  this 
place  was  used  for  that  purpose.  The  temple  was 
three  or  four  miles  inland  but  there  would  be  time 
to  walk  over  to  see  it  and  get  back  before  dark  to 
the  boat. 

Egyptian  landscape  has  a  charm  quite  its  own  ; 
one  may  often  see  something  in  Palestine  that  may 
remind  one  of  some  familiar  bit  of  country  at 
home  ;  the  Lebanon  in  places  recalls  similar  views 
in  other  mountainous  districts  ;  but  the  flat  stretches 
of  land,  that  are  watered  by  the  Nile,  recall  no 
other  place,  and  belong  to  Egypt  alone.  No 
fences  cut  up  the  view  and  give  it  the  look  of  a 
badly-drawn  chessboard  ;  a  change  in  the  colour 
alone  indicates  where  one  crop  may  be  more 
forward  than  another,  or  where  one  has  been 
gathered  in  ;  and  the  desert  hills  on  the  eastern  and 
western  horizons  ever  remind  one  that  Egypt  is  "  the 
gift  of  the  river,"  for  when  the  fertilising  waters 
reach  the  limits  of  their  level  the  fat  land  changes 
abruptly  into  a  howling  wilderness.  Though  still 
early  in  May,  the  harvest  was  nearly  over,  we 
would  pass  a  yoke  of  oxen  treading  the  corn  near 
which  some  peasants,  taking  advantage  of  the 
breeze,  were  separating  the  wheat  from  the  chaff. 
Flocks  of  sheep  and  herds  of  goats  were  being 
slowly  driven  over  the  stubble  in  the  direction  from 
which  we  came,  to  be  watered  at  the  Nile  where 

240 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   DENDERA 

the  banks  slope  sufficiently  to  make  the  water 
accessible  ;  and  Nicol  could  console  himself  that  we 
had  tied  up  at  the  very  place  for  his  subject,  as  we 
were  told  that  the  flocks  were  watered  there  every 
evening. 

The  scene  of  my  operations  now  came  in  sight  ; 
the  dust  was  rising  from  the  broken  grey  walls 
and  the  debris  that  usually  surround  a  temple,  and 
through  this  we  could  dimly  trace  the  outline  of 
\\\t  facade.  The  soil  which  partially  covers  these 
ruined  habitations  near  the  temples  is  of  value  to 
the  fellahin^  and  is  sold  to  them  by  the  Antiquities 
Department.  It  is  in  digging  up  the  '  sebagh,' 
as  it  is  called,  that  an  occasional  scarab  or  other 
4  antika '  falls  into  the  hands  of  these  peasants, 
and  in  paying  for  the  privilege  of  clearing  away 
this  dust  the  off-chance  of  a  find  no  doubt  enters 
into  their  calculations.  We  shall  speak  later  on  of  a 
record  find  made  during  one  of  these  operations. 
The  donkeys  that  carry  the  tourists  from  river  to 
temple  during  the  winter  are  turned  to  account  in 
the  summer  for  carrying  sacks  of  this  manure 
from  the  temples  to  the  fields.  This  dust  has 
often  obliged  me  to  abandon  a  sketch.  The  space 
in  front  of  the  facade  has  fortunately  been 
cleared,  and  allows  us  to  appreciate  its  symmetry 
and  fine  proportions  from  a  suitable  distance. 

The    Greek    influence    is    strongly    felt    in    the 

241  R 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

design.  The  temple  was  built  during  the  early 
part  of  the  first  century,  when  Egypt  became  a 
Roman  province  ;  and  though  what  we  actually 
see  now  was  erected  by  the  Emperor  Augustus,  it 
ranks  as  a  Ptolemaic  and  not  a  Roman  edifice. 
The  effect  of  \\\\s  facade  is  very  fine  ;  the  detail,  as 
in  most  work  of  this  period,  suggests  the  skilled 
workman  rather  than  the  artist,  but  it  keeps  its 
place  in  this  nobly  designed  building.  It  is 
difficult  to  compare  this  exterior  with  that  of  any 
temple  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  as  we  have  here 
the  advantage  of  seeing  the  architect's  elevation  in 
its  entirety  ;  whereas  in  the  earlier  work  so  much 
is  missing  that  one  rather  looks  for  picturesque 
bits  than  tries  to  study  what  their  effect  as  a  whole 
would  be.  Six  Hathor-headed  columns  support 
the  architrave  and  the  bold  concave  cornice,  and 
the  winged  sun-disk  decorates  the  space  over  the 
doorway.  The  three  columns  at  each  side  of  the 
entrance  are  joined  by  a  balustrade  that  reaches 
halfway  up  the  shafts.  The  pronaos,  or  vestible, 
again  compares  favourably  with  those  of  the  earlier 
temples,  as  the  eighteen  columns  that  spring  from 
the  floor  still  support  the  roof,  and  the  capitals  are 
partly  lost  in  the  shadow. 

This  temple  can  hardly  be  called  a  ruin,  and 
the  imposing  effect  of  light  and  shade  that  was 
intended  by  the  architect  is  seen  to  this  day.  The 

242 


THE  COURT  OF  THE  KIOSQUE  AT  DENDERA 


THE   TEMPLE    OF    DENDERA 

eighteenth  dynasty  works  may  be  finer,  but  their 
ruinous  condition  does  not  allow  us  to  realise  them 
as  we  can  do  in  this  and  other  Ptolemaic  temples. 
In  examining  the  wall  inscriptions  in  detail  one 
cannot  help  being  struck  by  the  falling  off  in  the 
sculptor's  art  ;  but  lost  as  they  are  in  the  great 
masses  of  light  and  shade  they  seem  to  serve  their 
purpose.  From  the  centre  of  the  pronaos  we  look 
through  the  entrance  to  the  hypostyle  hall,  and 
can  just  discern  the  last  of  the  six  columns,  where 
they  rise  from  the  pavement  to  be  lost  in  the 
shade  of  the  roofing-stones  which  they  carry.  We 
see  through  the  two  antechambers  beyond,  and  the 
increasing  gloom  in  the  perspective  ends  in  the 
blackness  of  the  sanctuary.  We  lit  no  candles,  for 
the  effect  was  all-sufficing.  As  we  entered  the 
hall  our  eyes  got  more  accustomed  to  the  gloom, 
and  the  small  square  openings  in  the  roof  admitted 
sufficient  light  to  make  the  Hathor  heads  of  the 
capitals  perceptible.  Passing  through  the  two 
antechambers  we  reached  the  door  of  the  sanctuary, 
where  darkness  reigned  supreme.  A  corridor  runs 
round  this  sanctuary  and  forms  the  egress  for 
eleven  chambers,  of  which  the  one  immediately 
behind  the  sanctuary  is  known  as  the  "  Hathor 
room."  This  once  contained  a  shrine  and  an 
image  of  the  goddess  ;  now  it  is  the  home  of 
innumerable  bats,  and  the  batty  odour  that  has 

243  R    2 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

replaced  the  scent  of  the  incense  soon  becomes  almost 
unbearable.  Standing  in  the  darkness  of  the  sanctuary 
we  can  look  right  through  to  the  entrance  of  the 
temple  200  feet  away,  and  the  blaze  of  light  from 
the  outside  world  obliges  us  to  grope  our  way  until 
our  eyes  are  once  more  accustomed  to  the  gloom. 
A  small  chamber  to  our  left  forms  a  passage  into  an 
open  court,  beyond  which  some  steps  lead  up  to  a 
chapel,  the  entrance  to  which  is  formed  by  two 
Hathor  columns.  The  jambs  of  the  door  butt 
against  the  shafts  and  nearly  reach  the  capitals, 
while  a  balustrade  connects  these  shafts  with  the 
walls.  The  sky-goddess,  "  Newt,"  is  painted  on 
the  ceiling  of  the  chapel,  or  kiosque,  as  it  is  some- 
times called.  I  decided  to  return  here  the  next 
day  and  set  up  my  easel  beneath  this  goddess  ;  the 
peep  through  into  the  little  court  would,  I  felt 
sure,  be  a  good  subject  under  a  more  favourable 
lighting,  and,  as  the  chapel  faces  nearly  north,  it 
would  be  a  comparatively  cool  place  to  work  in. 
The  staircase  to  the  roof  of  the  temple  starts  from 
just  inside  the  small  doorway  in  the  illustration. 
A  run  up  there  to  view  the  surrounding  country 
in  the  setting  sun,  was  well  worth  the  climb, 
even  though  it  meant  finding  the  best  part  of  our 
way  back  to  the  Mavis  in  the  dark. 


244 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIND  AT  KARNAK 


The  men  still  loading  their  donkeys  with  the 
septic  dust  around  the  temple  recalled  the  story  of 
the  find  which  a  fellah  made  some  five  years 
since  while  he  was  similarly  occupied.  We  will 
christen  him  "  Mahmoud  "  (if  giving  a  Moslem 
a  name  can  be  called  christening  !).  While  filling 
his  sacks  to  load  his  donkey,  Mahmoud's  shovel 
struck  something  more  solid  than  c  sebagh,'  and  he 
unearthed  a  pot.  This  is  not  an  unusual  thing  to 
do  ;  but  an  unbroken  pot  such  as  this  is  worth  a 
piastre  or  two,  so  he  proceeded  carefully  to  dis- 
engage it  from  the  soil.  It  being  closed  with  a 
stopper,  and  its  unusual  weight,  excited  the  man's 
curiosity.  On  opening  it  Mahmoud  found  that  it 
was  full  of  gold  pieces,  and,  while  still  muttering 
a  prayer  of  thanksgiving,  he  covered  it  over  and 
carefully  marked  the  spot,  and  again  thanked 
"  Allah  "  that  he  was  working  by  himself,  and 
would  not  have  to  divide  the  spoil  with  others. 
He  returned  here  after  dark  to  fetch  away  his 
hoard,  and  feeling  about  in  the  loosened  earth  he 
found  two  more  pots,  also  very  heavy  for  their 
respective  sizes.  He  managed  to  get  them 
back  to  his  hut,  where  he  feasted  his  eyes  on 
the  glittering  contents.  What  were  the  riches 
of  the  Omdeh  of  the  village  compared  to  this  heap 

245 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

of  gold  which  Providence  had  sent  to  Mahmoud  ! 
The  ambition  of  every  fellah  to  own  a  bit  of 
land  instead  of  working  the  land  of  others  was 
now  within  realisation.  Though  "  Allah  "  had 
been  gracious,  it  was  more  than  He  could  expect 
that  Mahmoud  should  part  with  his  find,  and  only 
content  himself  with  an  inadequate  reward.  But  to 
keep  a  secret  was  more  difficult  than  Mahmoud  had 
imagined  ;  for  half  the  pleasure  of  becoming  rich  is 
gone  if  one  has  to  keep  up  the  appearance  of 
being  poor.  The  Omdeh,  meeting  him  a  few 
days  later,  noticed  that  he  was  better  dressed  than 
usual,  and  chaffed  him  about  looking  such  a  swell. 
"  Ah,  don't  you  think  that  you  are  the  only  rich 
man  in  Karnak  ! "  answered  Mahmoud,  as  a 
boastful  spirit  got  the  better  of  his  discretion. 
"  What  do  you  think  of  this  ? "  he  cried, 
showing  the  Omdeh  a  handful  of  coins  ; 
"  and  there  are  plenty  more  where  these  came 
from." 

Seeing  that  they  were  not  coins  now  current, 
the  mayor  of  the  village  ventured  on  a  few  leading 
questions,  and  soon  pumped  the  whole  secret  out 
of  the  peasant.  For  the  rest  of  that  day  the  old 
rascal  schemed  how  he  might  get  possessed  of  these 
gold  pieces.  The  "  two-faddah  "  copper  coin  in 
circulation  among  the  poorer  folk  is  about  the  size 
of  a  sovereign,  and,  brightly  polished,  might  possibly 

246 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIND  AT  KARNAK 

pass  muster  for  the  more  valuable  coin  in  the  dimly 
lighted  hut  of  a  fellah  who  was  unaccustomed 
to  handling  the  "  guineh."  Anyhow,  he  would 
try  it.  That  same  evening  the  Omdeh  pro- 
ceeded to  Mahmoud's  hut,  where  he  found  our 
friend  alone  and  keeping  guard  over  his  treasure. 
"  You  are  lost,  O  Mahmoud!  "  he  whispered  ;  "  the 
people  in  Luxor  have  got  wind  of  your  find,  and 
it  has  got  to  the  ears  of  the  Mudir.  A  couple  of 
soldiers  are  now  on  their  way  to  arrest  you,  and  you 
will  lose  all  you  have  found,  to  say  nothing  of 
being  beaten  and  locked  up."  Poor  Mahmoud 
from  the  height  of  bliss  now  fell  into  the  depths 
of  woe.  He  grovelled  at  the  feet  of  the  Omdeh 
and  implored  him  to  help  him  out  of  the  difficulty. 
"  I  am  always,  as  you  know,  ready  to  stand  by  a 
fellow  villager,"  answered  the  old  humbug,  "  but 
you  must  do  exactly  what  I  tell  you.  The  amount 
of  your  find  is  not  known,  so,  when  the  soldiers 
come,  produce  only  half,  and  I  will  buy  from  you 
the  other  half.  A  guineh  will  I  give  you  for  each 
coin  you  sell  me,  and  these  I  can  secrete  in  my 
own  house.  One  of  my  servants  will  warn  me 
when  the  soldiers  arrive  in  the  village."  Mahmoud 
was  only  too  thankful  to  save  so  much  from  the 
wreck  of  his  fortune  and  counted  out  300  coins, 
for  which  he  got  in  exchange  an  equal  number  of 
two-faddah  pieces,  which  were  dropped  into  a  sack 

247 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

and  carefully  hidden  away.  The  real  gold  coins 
were  also  put  in  a  sack  and  stowed  away  beneath 
the  Omdeh's  galabieh,  and  both  parties  awaited 
the  arrival  of  the  soldiers. 

The  warning  of  the  approach  of  these  warriors 
was  not  forthcoming,  as  that  was  only  a  dramatic 
lie  thrown  in ;  but  the  tread  of  the  two  men  was 
heard  outside  and  Mahmoud  turned  livid  with 
fear.  The  Omdeh  stepped  out  and  had  a 
whispered  talk  ;  then,  loud  enough  for  Mahmoud 
to  hear,  he  assured  the  soldiers  that  it  was  all  right, 
and  that  there  was  no  need  for  an  arrest,  for — 
"  The  man  apprised  me  of  his  find  as  soon  as  he 
could  and  we  have  been  counting  the  coins,  which 
you  can  now  give  us  the  receipt  for  and  take 
away."  The  old  villain  then  produced  a  piece 
of  paper  which  one  of  the  soldiers  stamped  with 
his  seal  as  a  signature,  and  the  pot  with  half  of 
Mahmoud's  gold  pieces  was  handed  out  and  taken 
away.  "  Now  you  may  thank  your  stars  that  we 
have  got  over  the  difficulty  as  well  as  we  have  !  " 
said  the  Omdeh.  The  poor  fellah  breathed 
again  as  he  heard  the  soldiers  move  off,  and 
rejoiced  that  anyhow  he  had  300  golden  sovereigns 
still  to  the  good  ;  while  the  Omdeh  now  left  the 
hut  and,  hurrying  along,  caught  up  the  men  with 
the  pot  of  coins.  Needless  to  say  that  these  men 
were  no  more  soldiers  than  the  Omdeh  himself, 

248 


AN  ARAB  SCHOOL 


THE   STORY    OF   THE    PREDYNAST 

but  only  two  of  the  latter's  servants,  whom  he 
had  prepared  to  act  the  part.  The  whole  of 
Mahmoud's  haul  was  now  taken  to  the  old  man's 
house,  and  in  due  course  these  Roman  gold  coins 
found  their  way  to  the  various  '  antika  '  shops  in 
Cairo.  Mahmoud  dared  not  breathe  a  word  of  the 
trick  that  had  been  played  on  him,  and  had  to 
content  himself  with  the  300  little  copper  coins, 
which  was  all  he  got  out  of  the  find. 

Now  how  far  the  Oriental  imagination  may 
have  embellished  this  story  I  cannot  say  ;  and  I 
must  allow  the  reader  to  add  as  many  grains  of 
salt  as  he  thinks  fit. 

As  one  story  is  liable  to  beget  another,  and  while 
we  are  on  the  subject  of  finds,  it  may  interest  some 
to  hear  the  palpable  lie,  that  is  rife  amongst  the 
natives,  regarding  the  discovery  of  the  predynastic 
body  and  tomb  which  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  PREDYNAST 

Dr.  Wallis  Budge,  the  keeper  of  the  Egyptian 
and  Assyrian  collections  at  the  British  Museum, 
was  anxious  to  secure  a  complete  set  of  the 
contents  of  a  predynastic  tomb.  A  Moslem 
dealer  was  commissioned  to  hunt  one  up  if  it 
was  possible.  He  succeeded  after  a  while  in 

249 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

collecting  a  certain  number  of  pots  of  the  period, 
but  was  not  able  to  get  enough  to  satisfy  his 
client,  and  there  was  yet  the  most  important  con- 
tent of  the  tomb,  namely,  the  body,  to  be  found. 

He  heard  that  a  Copt,  who  lived  in  the  remote 
neighbourhood  where  he  was  prospecting,  had 
discovered  some  tombs  and  might  be  able  to  supply 
him  with  what  he  wanted.  "  Here's  my  chance," 
he  reflected,  "  between  the  two  of  us  we  may  be  able 
to  furnish  a  complete  set  of  tomb  furniture,  and 
should  he  not  have  a  perfect  body,  we  must  see 
if  we  can't  fake  one  up."  The  Arab  hurried 
off  to  the  Copt's  dwelling  while  these  pleasant 
thoughts  were  occupying  his  mind.  The  kubti 
lived  in  a  lonely  district  at  some  distance  from 
the  cultivated  land.  Much  might  be  done  here 
without  anyone  being  the  wiser.  The  man  was 
fortunately  at  home  and  ready  to  do  a  deal  with 
his  visitor.  He  had  pots  in  plenty,  but  not  a  body 
worthy  of  the  British  Museum.  Sinister  thoughts 
laid  hold  of  the  Arab  as  he  contemplated  the  spare 
figure  of  his  host.  To  slay  a  Christian  is  a 
dangerous  thing  to  do  ;  but  need  he,  as  one  of 
the  faithful,  let  that  prey  on  his  mind,  should 
there  be  little  chance  of  his  being  found  out  ? 
Evil  thoughts  soon  lead  to  evil  deeds.  The  Copt 
stooped  down  to  examine  his  pots  once  more,  and 
the  Arab  dealt  him  a  blow  on  the  back  of  his 

250 


THE    STORY    OF   THE    PREDYNAST 

head.  Seeing  that  his  victim  did  not  need  a 
second,  the  Moslem  stripped  the  body  of  its  clothes 
and  dragged  it  to  a  hollow  in  the  desert.  Here  he 
trussed  the  poor  Copt  up  in  the  position  in  which 
the  predynastic  folk  were  wont  to  lay  out  their 
dead,  and  trusted  to  the  drying  winds  and  the 
summer  sun  to  dry  the  body  up  sufficiently  to  pass 
muster  as  a  predynast.  The  next  move  was  to 
collect  the  rest  of  the  tomb  furniture  in  the  hut, 
load  his  donkey  and  get  back  to  his  home  as 
quickly  as  he  could. 

Returning  to  the  spot  six  months  later,  the  Arab 
dealer  found  the  defunct  Copt  done  to  a  turn,  got 
the  body  back  to  his  shop,  and  sold  it,  with  the 
pots,  to  the  British  Museum,  where  the  reader  can 
now  inspect  him  whenever  he  likes. 

That  such  lies  as  this  one  should  gain  credence 
among  a  people  who  are  past-masters  in  the  art  of 
lying  seems  extraordinary.  Where  and  how  the 
contents  of  this  predynastic  tomb  were  found  I 
could  not  ascertain,  but  as  the  truth  would  possibly 
be  less  entertaining  than  the  fiction,  I  let  the  matter 
pass. 

Nicol  and  I  having  both  completed  our  work  at 
Dendera,  we  made  the  most  of  an  east  wind  to 
help  us  down  the  river.  We  reached  Nag  Hamadeh 
before  the  wind  shifted  to  the  north.  The  Nile 

251 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

flows  from  east  to  west,  from  Keneh  to  Belianeh, 
a  little  below  where  we  now  tied  up — for  it  was 
difficult  to  settle  down  to  work  in  the  Mavis  while 
we  sped  along  this  reach.  Towns  and  villages 
seem  almost  to  touch  each  other  on  our  present 
northern  bank.  Spurs  of  the  Arabian  mountains 
advance  in  places  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
river,  and  are  often  very  fine  in  colour.  The  town 
of  Deshneh  rises  out  of  the  ruins  of  an  ancient 
city.  Fau,  which  lies  but  a  few  miles  lower 
down,  looked  extremely  picturesque,  rising  as  it 
does  out  of  the  remains  of  an  ancient  convent  ; 
but  the  wind  was  too  favourable  to  make  it  advisable 
to  stop  for  a  sketch. 

Nag  Hamadeh  is  a  poor  place  for  a  halt,  though, 
reaching  it  at  nightfall,  there  was  no  help  for  it. 
A  great  dismantled  sugar  factory,  and  the  railway 
bridge  which  crosses  the  Nile,  are  its  chief  ugli- 
nesses. We  had  told  the  Luxor  postmaster  to 
forward  any  letters  here,  so  we  sent  one  of  the 
crew  to  call  for  them.  A  cablegram  from  home, 
which  necessitated  my  getting  back  to  England 
as  fast  as  I  could,  lay  awaiting  our  arrival.  The 
300  miles  of  the  Nile  between  here  and  Benisuef, 
that  I  had  never  sailed,  had  to  be  left  undone. 
Fortunately  I  had  been  to  Abydos,  and  I  was 
able  to  console  myself  that  I  had  seen  every 
notable  temple  ;  but  the  site  of  Tel  el-Amarna 

252 


MOSQUE  OF  SAKHLUN  AT  ROSETTA 


DENDERA 

and  the  tombs  of  Benihasan  I   had  to  leave   un- 
visited. 

As  the  night  train  took  me  past  Belianeh  my 
pleasant  stay  at  the  camp  across  the  plain  at  Abydos 
came  back  to  me.  Picturesque,  but  at  the  time 
fever-stricken,  Girgeh  could  not  be  sketched  from 
a  safe  place  on  the  river;  Zohag,  with  its  famous 
red  and  white  convents,  must,  God  willing,  be 
explored  another  time,  together  with  many  other 
Coptic  buildings  lying  between  this  town  and 
Assiut.  Sleep  soon  came  to  the  relief  of  the 
anxiety  which  the  cablegram  had  produced,  and  I 
dreamt  of  the  old  convents  past  which  the  train 
was  carrying  me.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  be 
able  to  sail  from  Port  Said  the  next  night,  and  in 
five  days  I  was  once  more  in  London. 


253 


CHAPTER  XX 

ROSETTA 

UPSETTING  the  chronological  order  of  my  travels 
I  will  ask  the  reader  to  accompany  me  to  Rosetta, 
where  I  stayed  for  some  time  about  ten  years 
ago. 

To  avoid  the  heat  of  Cairo  in  July,  I  transferred 
my  sketching  field  to  the  Lebanon,  where  I  stayed 
sufficiently  long  to  allow  Damascus  to  cool  down. 
While  at  the  latter  place  I  heard  from  my  old 
friend  Henry  Simpson,  who  declared  that  Rosetta, 
where  he  was  staying,  was  of  all  places  in  the  east 
the  most  paintable  he  had  ever  struck.  Rumours 
of  the  possibilities  of  Rosetta  had  reached  me 
before,  but  being  confirmed  now  by  one  whose 
appreciation  of  the  picturesque  is  almost  unique,  I 
decided  to  proceed  there  as  soon  as  my  work  in 
Damascus  should  be  over.  I  caught  a  boat  at 
Berut  that  coasted  from  there  to  Alexandria,  and  a 
five  hours'  journey  in  a  very  slow  train  took  me 
from  the  last  port  to  "  El-Raschid,"  as  I  was  now 

254 


ROSETTA 

taught  to  call  Rosetta.  More  concerned  with  the 
pictorial  possibilities  of  the  place  than  with  its 
accommodation,  I  had  made  no  inquiries  about  the 
latter,  but,  had  I  looked  into  a  Baedeker  at  the 
time,  I  should  have  noticed  that  he  says  "  no  inn  "  ; 
and  as  we  had  no  boat  and  no  tents  I  might  have 
cried  off.  However,  my  friend  met  me  at  the 
station,  and  when  I  asked  if  we  were  far  from  the 
hotel,  I  thought  I  detected  a  smile  when  he  told 
me  the  'hotel'  was  within  a  ten  minutes' walk.  The 
queer  old  town  looked  very  picturesque  as  we 
approached  it  in  the  dusk,  but  the  queerest  sight 
of  all  was  the  ramshackle  old  building  which  the 
proprietor  called  the  "  hotel."  The  lower  stories 
were  let  out  for  the  storage  of  any  articles  that 
would  not  suffer  damage  should  the  upper  part  fall 
in.  There  was  not  much  in  them  except  some 
heaps  of  charcoal  and  straw,  under  which  the  rats 
hurried  when  I  looked  in.  Simpson  warned  me 
not  to  mount  the  stairs  till  the  luggage  had  been 
carried  up,  and  that  it  would  be  keeping  on  the 
safe  side  for  only  one  at  a  time  to  ascend.  It  was 
still  light  enough  to  see  that  the  staircase  had 
evidently  been  an  afterthought  of  the  architect, 
who  had  run  it  up  the  side  of  the  tall  building  in  a 
zig-zag.  It  was  covered  in  and  looked  like  a 
square  tower  butting  against  the  wall.  A  wide 
crack  showed  that  staircase  and  hotel  were  about  to 

255 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

part  company,  and  I  understood  my  friend's 
solicitude.  I  have  often  regretted  that  I  do  not 
weigh  more  than  I  do,  but  on  this  occasion  I  was 
pleased  ;  and,  judging  from  our  fare,  I  was  likely 
to  remain  a  light  weight  as  long  as  I  stayed  at  the 
Hotel  Karalambo  !  Having  learnt,  by  the  light  of 
a  tallow  dip,  where  were  the  dangerous  places  in 
the  floor  of  my  bedroom,  I  stowed  my  traps  where 
the  rats  were  least  likely  to  get  at  them,  and  sang 
out  to  Simpson  to  lead  me  to  the  dining-room,  as  I 
had  eaten  nothing  but  some  unripe  dates  since 
breakfast.  I  heard,  to  my  dismay,  that  we  fed  at 
the  "  bakkal  "  on  the  other  side  of  the  square  ;  so, 
one  at  a  time,  we  descended  the  dangerous  staircase. 
A  "  bakkal  "  is  a  mixture  of  grocer  shop,  cafe,  and 
restaurant,  and  this  one  having  no  bedrooms  to 
spare,  Karalambo,  the  proprietor,  had  rented  the 
ramshackle  building  which  we  had  just  left,  to 
accommodate  any  travellers  who  were  brave  enough 
to  risk  the  staircase. 

I  was  now  introduced  to  Karalambo,  who  politely 
wiped  the  grease  off  his  fingers  on  his  nether 
garments,  before  shaking  hands.  A  little  Kara- 
lambo stared  as  only  one  unaccustomed  to  seeing 
guests  could.  Mrs.  Karalambo  then  made  my 
acquaintance  ;  and  before  some  steaming  mess  was 
ready  for  us,  I  had  been  introduced  to  most  of  the 
notabilities  of  Rosetta.  This  "  bakkal "  was  the 

256 


THE  SHRINE  OF  SAKHLUN,  ROSETTA 


ROSETTA 

meeting-place  of  the  e/ite,  and  was  crowded  with 
Arabs  smoking  their  c  narghilehs '  and  playing 
'  tric-trac.'  I  was  glad  of  some  food  and  did  not 
stop  to  guess  what  I  was  eating,  though  I  thought 
that  some  bits  of  carpet  and  india-rubber  had  found 
their  way  into  the  stew  ;  but  I  found  out  after- 
wards that  most  of  the  meat  was  of  that  con- 
sistency. 

The  native  doctor  joined  our  table  when  the 
coffee  was  served  ;  a  bright,  cheery  fellow,  who 
spoke  English  remarkably  well.  Though  he  had 
never  left  Egypt,  his  training  for  the  medical 
profession  had  been  much  the  same  as  if  he  had 
studied  in  London  or  Paris.  He  told  us  of  his 
difficulties  in  contending  with  the  prejudices  of  his 
co-religionists,  and  how  the  laws  of  Mohammedan 
society  made  it  almost  impossible  for  him  to  effect 
any  cures  amongst  the  women.  He  had  got  so  far  as 
to  persuade  some  husbands  to  allow  him  to  feel  the 
pulse,  or  look  at  the  tongue  of  a  wife,  through  a 
slit  in  the  curtain,  but  the  disease  had  generally 
gone  too  far  when  he  had  been  called  in.  He 
insisted  on  our  dining  with  him  the  following 
evening,  and  left  us  at  the  bottom  of  the  dangerous 
staircase.  We  found  our  way  up,  after  relighting 
the  candle  several  times,  and  turned  in  for  the 
night.  Happily,  the  rats  did  not  keep  me  awake 
very  long  ;  and  the  bed  had  evidently  not  been  slept 

257  s 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

in  for  so  long  that  all  live-stock  had  departed 
from  it. 

Rosetta  came  up  to  my  expectations  as  a 
sketching  ground,  and  Simpson  was  soon  able 
to  show  me  all  the  choicest  bits.  The  bazaars  were 
at  their  best  ;  some  of  the  stalls  were  laden  with 
fruit  both  from  Syria  and  the  surrounding  country. 
Little  savouring  of  Europe  was  seen  here,  and  but 
few  of  the  people  had  abandoned  the  native  dress. 
Columns  of  old  temples,  or  of  early  Christian 
churches,  have  been  used  to  support  a  projecting 
story  or  to  round  off  the  corner  of  a  building. 
The  houses  are  built  of  long  narrow  bricks  with 
wide  joints  between  them  ;  they  are  of  a  rich 
brownish-red  colour,  a  good  deal  of  woodwork 
is  seen,  but  the  meshrebiya  is  ruder  than  in 
Cairo.  The  mosque  of  Sidi  Sakhlun  is  very  ex- 
tensive, and  the  vaulting  is  all  carried  by  antique 
marble  columns.  Some  of  the  smaller  mosques, 
though  very  much  out  of  repair,  were  none  the 
less  paintable.  The  fountains,  schools,  and  baths, 
are  all  on  a  more  modest  scale  than  at  Cairo,  but 
there  is  nothing  here  to  jar  with  their  oriental 
character,  as  is  so  often  the  case  in  the  larger  city. 

Simpson  had  done  some  admirable  work  in  some 
of  the  little  cafe's,  and  I  hope  that  before  long 
Londoners  may  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
some  of  his  water-colour  drawings.  The  Rosetta 

258 


ROSETTA 

period    is,  as  far  as  I  have  seen,  the  best  period 
of  his  art. 

In  spite  of  rough  quarters,  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  stay  on  here  as  long  as  I  could,  for  it  was  a  gem 
of  a  place  to  paint  in.  I  was  able  to  hire  a  night- 
watchman  to  keep  back  the  crowd  while  I  was 
sketching  in  the  bazaars,  and  to  ward  off  the  dogs 
that  are  a  nuisance  here.  The  fruit  stalls  first 
attracted  my  brush.  Oranges  and  lemons  were 
in  places  heaped  up  in  great  piles  to  be  sold  by 
auction  to  the  retailers  ;  huge  clusters  of  dates, 
baskets  filled  to  overflowing  with  pomegranates, 
stacks  of  sugar-cane,  and  bundles  of  artichokes, 
gave  one  the  whole  range  of  the  palette  to  play 
with.  The  lighting  of  these  bazaars  is  very  fine. 
The  sun's  rays  are  cut  off  by  the  matting  and 
sacking  which  is  spread  over  a  rough  kind  of 
trellis,  and  the  subdued  light  thus  obtained  is  a 
rich  golden  brown.  These  subjects  have  to  be 
painted  very  rapidly,  and  completed  piecemeal 
after  the  effect  is  got  ;  for  the  heap  of  lemons  of 
to-day  may  give  place  to  a  pile  of  pomegranates 
to-morrow  ;  and  the  view  is  also  continually  in- 
terrupted by  the  salesman  and  his  customers.  It 
is  very  exhausting  work,  and  being  at  the  time 
of  the  high  Nile,  the  damp  heat  was  very 
trying. 

After  a  couple  of  days  in  the  fruit  bazaar,  to  start 

259  s  2 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

a  drawing  in  the  quiet  of  a  mosque  was  restful  in 
comparison.  A  word  from  the  Mahmoor  (the 
governor  of  the  town)  to  the  Sheykh,  set  aside 
any  difficulties  there  might  have  been  as  to  our 
being  allowed  to  set  up  an  easel  in  the  shrine  of  Sidi 
Sakhlun.  I  was  told  the  history  of  this  saintly 
personage,  but  I  have  got  it  too  mixed  up  with 
that  of  other  great  lights  of  the  Mohammedan 
faith  to  dare  to  venture  on  giving  it  ;  and  his  mosque 
was  such  a  good  sketching  ground  that  I  was  pre- 
pared to  believe  in  all  his  virtues,  without  question. 
Another  local  saint  lies  beneath  the  dome  of  a 
mosque  on  the  outskirts  of  the  desert  that  separates 
Rosetta  from  Aboukir  Bay.  The  sea  breezes  have 
silted  up  the  sand  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
further  side  of  the  building  is  more  than  half 
buried,  and  the  sand  has  to  be  continually  cleared 
away  on  the  front  side  to  enable  the  worshippers 
to  enter  the  portal,  while  the  present  cemetery  is 
ten  or  more  feet  above  the  level  of  the  floor  of  the 
mosque.  I  was  making  the  drawing  that  is 
reproduced  in  the  illustration,  during  the  month  of 
"  Shanwal,"  which  succeeds  the  fast  of  Ramadan. 
It  is  customary  then  for  the  women  to  visit  the 
graves  of  their  deceased  relatives  and  to  deck  them 
with  palm  branches.  They  would  sit  about  this 
cemetery  the  whole  day  ;  some  would  be  bewailing 
the  loss  of  a  parent,  while  others,  squatting  in 

260 


THE  MOSQUE  AT  ABOUKIR 


ROSETTA 

groups,    passed   the    time    in    talking   about    their 
neighbours'  concerns. 

I  was  confined  for  nearly  a  week  to  my  garret  in 
the  Hotel  Karalambo  by  an  attack  of  ague  fever. 
Our  doctor  friend  was  not  only  my  medical  adviser 
but  nurse  and  caterer  as  well,  and  Mrs.  Karalambo 
would  be  admonished  by  him  if  the  beef  tea  proved 
more  greasy  than  usual.  His  visits  lasted  the  length 
of  a  large  cigar.  I  would  watch  this  as  if  it  were 
an  hour-glass,  and  when  it  had  burnt  down  to  the 
stump  the  cheery  little  c  hakim '  would  suddenly 
remember  another  patient,  and  be  off,  promising  to 
come  and  smoke  another  weed  later  in  the  day. 
When  I  got  on  my  legs  again  I  was  hardly  up  to 
working  in  Rosetta,  especially  on  the  poor  fare  that 
we  got  at  the  inn.  The  rainy  season  had  com- 
menced, and  I  found  that  the  ceiling  of  my  room 
had  as  many  holes  in  it  as  the  floor,  and  a  shower- 
bath,  though  a  delight  at  the  proper  season,  is  dis- 
turbing to  a  night's  rest  ;  also  these  jets  of  water 
would  occasionally  bring  down  a  piece  of  plaster. 
One  is  liable  to  some  heavy  rains  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  autumn  anywhere  near  the  coast  of 
Egypt,  and  I  feared  lest  our  staircase  should  slide 
away  from  the  house.  Therefore  I  decided  to  get 
away  from  Rosetta  and  return  to  Cairo.  Simpson 
stayed  on  to  finish  his  work,  but  joined  me  a  few 
weeks  later.  I  hope  to  have  an  opportunity  of 

261 


BELOW   THE   CATARACTS 

painting  in  this  picturesque  town  again,  either 
while  camping  out  or  living  on  a  dahabiyeh  ;  for  I 
am  ten  years  older  now,  and  less  inclined  to  face 
the  discomforts  of  living  in  a  Greek  "  bakkal." 

Some  years  after  my  stay  in  Rosetta  a  series  of 
happy  coincidences  brought  me  back  to  within  easy 
reach  of  it.  My  friend  Simpson  was  spending  the 
latter  part  of  the  summer  on  the  houseboat  of 
Mr.  G.  B.  Alderson,  a  leading  member  of  the 
English  colony  at  Alexandria.  "  Noah,"  as  he  is 
called  by  his  familiars,  invited  me  to  spend  some 
time  on  his  ark  before  starting  for  Upper  Egypt. 
This  "  ark  "  was  originally  a  gunboat  but  has  been 
fashioned  by  its  owner  into  a  commodious  and  very 
comfortable  floating  habitation.  It  is  moored  in 
the  bay  of  Aboukir  opposite  a  villa  which  Mr. 
Alderson  has  built  among  the  palms  close  to  the 
sea  front.  Mrs.  Richmond,  a  daughter  of  our  host, 
occupied  the  house  on  the  shore,  where  we  repaired 
for  our  meals  ;  but  our  quarters  for  the  night  were 
always  on  the  ark.  I  spent  a  delightful  week  in 
this  earthly  paradise.  The  weather  was  perfect, 
just  hot  enough  to  make  us  enjoy  the  sea  breezes 
and  the  shade  of  the  palm  groves.  Great  clusters 
of  dates  hung  from  the  trees,  varying  in  colour  from 
the  palest  gold  to  a  rich  brown  and  purple  according 
to  their  exposure  to  the  sun,  and  I  was  glad  to  have 

262 


ROSETTA 

this  opportunity  of  making  some  studies  of  these, 
for  the  date  palm  is  never  seen  to  perfection,  except 
when  this  fine  patch  of  colour  appears  beneath  its 
fronds.  Our  genial  host  assured  me  that  I  had 
come  a  week  too  late  to  see  them  in  their  full 
splendour,  as  a  good  deal  of  the  fruit  had  been 
gathered  ;  but  enough  yet  remained  for  my  purpose. 
Has  one  ever  been  shown  over  a  flower  garden  when 
the  proud  owner  has  not  regretted  that  one  is  a 
few  days  too  late  to  see  the  roses  at  their  best,  or  a 
few  days  too  early  to  appreciate  his  lilies  ? 

The  minaret  that  rises  between  the  palms  in  the 
illustration  is  a  modern  erection  and  therefore  has  not 
been  a  silent  witness  of  the  historical  events  which 
took  place  round  and  about  Aboukir.  It  has  an 
interest  of  its  own,  however,  as  it  is  probably  the  only 
standing  minaret  ever  built  by  a  Christian  as  a  gift 
to  the  people  of  another  faith  ;  but  I  mildly  sug- 
gested to  my  host  that,  as  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  England,  thai  church  might  have  been  his 
first  consideration  ;  however,  on  being  told  that  he 
had  built  the  church  for  the  English  at  Ramleh, 
where  there  were  plenty  of  rich  members  able  and 
willing  to  support  it,  it  was  evident  that  a  neigh- 
bouring Peter  had  not  been  robbed  to  pay  an  alien 
Paul. 

Apart  from  these  ethical  considerations,  this 
mosque  is  a  great  improvement  to  the  appearance 

263 


BELOW   THE    CATARACTS 

of  the  village,  and  is  a  proof,  if  one  were  needed, 
that  it  is  not  necessarily  age  which  gives  to  earlier 
work  its  chief  beauty.  If  the  proportions  be  good, 
and  the  structure  is  in  keeping  with  its  surroundings, 
it  will  be  beautiful  from  the  very  first  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  should  the  proportions  be  bad,  and  the 
building  ill-adapted  to  its  site,  age  will  never  make 
it  fine,  but  will  at  the  best  only  help  to  disguise  its 
imperfections.  My  excuse  for  such  a  platitude  is 
that  one  is  constantly  hearing  a  building  condemned 
as  ugly  simply  because  it  is  new,  and  one  is  recom- 
mended to  see  another  with  no  virtues  save  that  of 
age.  It  is  as  unfair  to  the  architects  who  do  good 
work  now,  as  the  collector  of  old  masters  is  apt  to 
be  to  a  master  who  has  the  disadvantage  of  being 
alive. 

But  I  had  more  to  do  in  Egypt  than  to  enjoy  the 
shade  of  the  palm  grove  and  to  study  the  colour  of 
the  fruit,  delightful  though  the  life  was.  I  was 
therefore  compelled  to  take  leave  of  my  kind  host 
and  hostess,  and  to  wend  my  way  to  the  station. 

As  I  passed  by  the  village  the  call  to  prayer 
directed  my  attention  once  more  to  the  whitened 
minaret,  and  the  last  sound  I  heard  was  the  sonorous 
voice  of  the  muezzin,  "  Allah  akbar,  Allah  akbar  !  " 


264 


INDEX 


INDEX 


ABOUKIR,  bay  of,  262 
Abraham's    burnt-offering,  place 

of,  63 

Abydos,  ancient  city  of,  208 
Advice  to  tourists,  20 
Ahmes,  165 
Akhnaton,  184 

change  of  name  to,  190 
Alderson,  Mr.  G.  B.,  262 

my  stay  with,  262 
Alexandria  to  Cairo,  128 
Amenhotep  III.,  141,  189 

pylon  of,  221 

wife  of,  1 88 

Amenhotep  (architect),  189 
Ammon  Ra,  167 
Ammon,  the  temple  of,  156 
Amr,  101,  105 

"  Antikas,"  native  thefts  of,  136, 
199 

forging  of,  200 

Antiquities  Department,  136,  241 
Arab  guides,  113 
Arabian  museum,  51 
Architecture,  10,  60 
Arrhidaeus,  Philip,  223 
Ashrafieh,  el-,  37 
Askar,  el-,  108 

BAB — el-Futuh,  92 
el-Khalk,  50 
el-Metwali,  41 
en-Nasr,  92 
ez-Zuweyla,  39,  93 


"  Bakkal,"  256 
Bazaars,  22 

armourers',  48 

at  Rosetta,  259 

booksellers',  33 

brassworkers',  29 

carpet,  27 

coppersmiths',  22 

goldsmiths',  23 

scent,  38 

spice,  38 

Tunis  and  Algerian,  38 

Turkish,  26 
Bedouin  arabs  at  the  Pyramids, 

113. 

Bedr  (vizier),  39 
Bedrashen,  126 
Berchem,  von,  93 
Biban  el-Muluk,  185 
Boatmen  up  river,  characteristics 

of,  238 
Breasted,    Professor,    History   of 

Egypt,  180,  189 
Budge,  Dr.  Wallis,  249 
Bulak,  133 

painting  at,  138 
"Bulbul,"  154 
Burckhardt,  95 

CAMEL,  sale  of,  91 

load  at  Luxor,  140 
Canal  of  el-Khalig,  1 1 
Cast  of  "Punt,"  137 

taking  wax  impressions  of,  156 


267 


INDEX 


Cairene  houses,  12 

women,  24 
Cairo,  old,  98 

cemetery  of,  80,  94 

impressions  of,  134 
Carter,  Mr.  Howard,  172,  209 
Cheops'  great  tomb,  115 
Christian  chapel,  174 
Clarke,  Mr.  Somers,  171 
Collecting   spoiling   the   ancient 

monuments,  170 
Coptic  church,  99,  102 

convent,  103 

monks,  177 

Copts,  history  of,  99,  100 
Country  boatmen,  237 
Currelly,  Mr.  C.  T.,  137,  146 

DAHABIYEH,  life  on  a,  135 
Dalison,  Mr.,  158 
Dargham  (vizier),  40 
Davis,  Mr.  Theodore,  186 
Dendera,  temple  of,  236 
Derb — el-Ahmar,  44 

el-Gamamiz,  51,  53 

el-Merdani,  45 

el-Yehudiyeh,  87 
Der  el-Bahri,  recollections  of,  216 

delicate  reliefs  at,  178,  179 

el-Medinah,  177 
Dispensary,  Cairo,  88 
Donkeys,  superiority  of  Egyptian, 

141 
Dress,  native  and  European,  54, 

55 

of  the  different  religions,  44 
Duhr,  1 8 
Dust,  temple,  241 

ECHO,  curious,  146 
Education,  native,  54 
Edwards,  Amelia  B.,  124 
Egypt,  April  in,  215 
Egyptians,  Manners  and  Customs 
of  the  Ancient,  144 


Egyptiah  art,  124 

Exploration  Fund,  157 
landscape,  240 

Execution,  ancient  place  of,  41 

Eye,  Akhnaton's  priest,  190 

Ezbekiyeh  gardens,  1 2 

"FELLAH,"  116,  123 

Find  at  Karnak,  story  of  the,  245 

Fostat,  107 

Funeral  rites,  80 

GARSTANG,  Mr.,  207 

camp  of,  208 
Gebel  Turra,  127 
Gizeh  pyramids,  121 
Great  Pyramid,  estimate  of  cost, 

117 
Greek  influence  upon  Egyptian 

art,  174,  175 
v.i  at  Dendera,  241 
Griffith,  Major,  147,  150 
Guide,  my,  "Mohammed  Brown," 

i3>  18,  3°>  47 

HALL,  HENRY  (of  British  Mu- 
seum), 157 
Haremheb,  230 
Hathor  cow,  finding  of,  158 

goddess  of  the  dead,  177 

placed  in  Cairo  Museum,  215 
Hatshepsu's   temple,    125,    160 
180 

casting  of  reliefs  in,  137 

great  obelisk,  223 

history  of,  165 
Herz  Bey,  34,  46 
Hospital,  Kalaiin,  89 
Houses  in  Old  Cairo,  46, 57, 60,92 

JEWISH  Quarter,  87 
Jews,  23,  44 
Jones,  Mr.  Harold,  209 
Joseph's  Well,  72 


268 


INDEX 


KAIT  BEY,  tomb  of,  97 
"  Karakush,"  94 
Karalambo,  mine  host,  256 
Karnak,  hypostyle  hall  at,  213 
Khalil  Khan,  26 

el-Ashraf,  26 

Khamsin,  nature  of  the,  203,  213 
Khedivial  schools,  55 
Khnum,  Ram-headed,  167 
Khons,  temple  of,  234 
Khumaruyeh,  108 
Kurnah,  village  of,  142 
Kus,  239 

LEGRAIN,  Monsieur,  216,  217 
discovery  of  shrine  by,  226 
discovery  of  statues  in   pond 
by,  232 

Library,  Viceregal,  53 

Luxor,  temple  of,  189 
return  to,  215 

MAMELUKES — El  Ashraf  Khalil, 
26 

El  Mahmudi  Muaiyad,  38,  43 

Kutuz,  40 

tombs  of  the,  97,  no 
Mariette's  house,  123 

discovery  of  tombs  by,  124 
Maristan,  20 
Marriage  customs,  68 
Maspero,  Professor,  137,  162 
Masr  el-Kahira,   10 
Medinet  Habu,  178 
Medresseh,  38,  74 
Mena  House  Hotel,  121 
Mentuhotep  II.,  temple  of,  157 

discovery  of  mummy,  196 

work  at,  184 
Merneptah,  230 

"  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression," 

231 

Ministry  of  Education,  53 
Modern  Mosque,  263 


Mohammed  Ali,  Avenue,  49,  50 

Effendi,  141 
Mokattam  Hills,  127 
Moses'  Mount,  63 
Mosques — Aksunkur,  82 

Amr,  1 06,  109 

Barkuk,  Sultan,  20 

Bibars,  91 

El-Azhar,  34 

El-Hakim,  93 

El-Merdani,  45 

El-Muaiyad,  38,  42 

Ghuri,  38 

Giyushi,  no 

Hasan,  59,  74 

Ibn  Tulun,  62 

Ishmas  el-Ishaki,  45 

Mohammed  Ali,  67,  71 
en-Nasr,  20 

Rifaiyeh,  79 

Sidi  Sakhlfln,  258,  260 

NAG  HAMADEH,  252 
Nahassin,  el-,  15 
Nakht,  tomb  of,  203 

history  of,  204 
Narghileh,  90 
Nasr,  40 

Native   ideas   regarding    excava- 
tions, 185 
Naville,  Professor,  157,  161,   176 

Mrs.,  198 

Necropolis  of  Sakkara,  123 
Nectanebos,  temple  of,  181 
Newt,  goddess,  244 
New  York,  Metropolitan  Museum 

of,  137 
Nicol,  Erskine,  138,  215,  237 

picture   by,    232,  240 
Nile,  132 

OTHMANLY  CONQUEST,  39 


PETRIE,  Professor  FLINDERS,  116 
Pharaoh's  Oven,  63 


269 


INDEX 


Poole,  Stanley  Lane,  36,  39,  59, 

94 

Port  Said,  i 
Pottery,  Ballas,  239 
Predynast,  story  of  the,  249 
Proverbs  of  the  Seven  Wise  Men, 

189 

Ptah,  temple  of,  228 
Ptolemaic  temples,  178 
Punt,  castings  of,  137 

assistants  at  work  on,  176 

delicate  reliefs  of,  179 

land  of,  1 68 

wax  impressions  of,  161 
Pyramids,  112 

RAMESSEUM  at  Thebes,  141,  176 

Ramses  I.,  218 

Ramses  II.,  temple  of,  208 

wars  of,  231 
Ramses  III.,  182,  183 
Recall  to  England,  252 
Rekmere,  tomb  of,  207 
Reliefs  at  Abydos,  213 
Rond  Point,  87 
Rosetta,  254 

genial  doctor  at,  257,  261 

hotel  at,  255 
Route  to  Cairo,  5 

SAINT  KUTB  EL-METWALLI,  41 

Seyid  el-Bedawi,  133 
Sakere,  191 
Sakiyehs,  73,  131 
Sakkara,  route  to,  122 
Saladin,  40,43.  67,  73,  88 
Sebils,  1 6,  90 
Sekhmet,  statue  of,  229 
Senmut  (architect),  173 
Serapeum  at  Sakkara,  1 23 
Seti's  Temple,  176,  207,  210 

reliefs  at,  179,  211,  221 
Sharia  Tulun,  67 

el  Magar,  79 


Sharia  esh  Sharawani,  98 
Sheykh  Abd  el-Kurnah,  144 

tomb  of,  203 

Sadaat,  56,  57 
Shia  heresy,  40,  43 
Shrine,  small,  at  Karnak,  226 
Simpson,  Mr.  Henry,  254 

art  of,  258 

Sleeping  at  the  camp,  150 
Smith,  J.  Lindon,  188 
Sphinx,  118 

avenue  of  ram-headed,  217 

comments  upon  the,  119 
St.  George,  or  Mari  Girgis,  99 
Streets  of  Cairo,  34,  51,  52,  67 
Suk  ez  Zalat,  12,  14 
Sultan  Hasan,  78 
Sumptuary  laws,  44 

TAHARQA,  181,  218 
Tanta,  132 
Tel  el-Amarna,  191 
Temple  of  —  Ammon,  156 

Dendera,  242 

Hatshepsu,  145,  156 

Khons,  234 

Medinet  Habu,  178 

Mentuhotep,  196 

Mut,  234 
Thebes,  140 
Thothmes  I.,  165,  166 
Thothmes  II.,  165 
Thothmes  III.,  166,  173,  221,  222 

sanctuary  of,  225 
Tomb  of  Sheykh  Galal,  96 

caliphs,  96 

Trade  in  Cairo,  17,  21 
Traffic  in  Cairo,  15,  37 


Tumbakiyeh,  90 
Twet-ankh-Amon,  191 
Tyi,  Queen,  188 
discovery  of,  186 
history  of,  188,  190 
occupant  of  tomb  of,  195 


270 


INDEX 

Tyi,  Queen,  tomb,  description  of     Water-carrier,  44 

interior  of,  192  Weigall,  Mr.  Arthur  E.  P.,  160, 

"  Tyndale  Koom,"  176  171 

Wilkinson,  death  of,  145 
USERTESEN  III.,  diorite  statues          house  of,  144 

of,  158  Women,  Cairene,  24 

dress,  126 

VIZIERS — Bedr,  39,  93  religion,  84 

Dargham,  40 
Gohar,  34  YASHMAK,  24,  87 

WAILERS,  professional,  81  ZIKR,  dervish  dance,  95 


THE    END 


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